Game Over: Restarted
by Heart of a Dixon
Summary: 16 year old Kaiya is still struggling with her feelings for redneck zombie hunting jerk face Daryl Dixon. Add to that teenage hormones, jealousy, and the zombies all around and any wrong move could mean game over. Sequel to Game Over
1. In Short

I had thought it was a bad idea from the beginning, and not just because I was in love with him. She could get hurt very badly. Not that I wouldn't enjoy seeing that prissy bitch in pain, but I was using this as an excuse for opposition to the plan.

Daryl Dixon was way too old for me (I was only 16) but we loved each other. We weren't sure what the rest of the group (minus Andrea; she already knew) would do if they found out. So Daryl and I had thought up a plan to make them less suspicious of our undercover relationship.

Just a few days ago, we had come across another survivor on our way over a bypass. A girl around Daryl's age. Emily. We figured that if everyone thought he and Emily were together, no one would suspect a thing when we both coincidentally snuck off on our own at the same time.

I knew the others were getting a little worried about out distance in the public eye. We tried to stay as far away from each other as we could when around others. This obviously confused them, but no one said anything. Daryl and I had been practically inseparable before, always looking out for each other and goofing around together (though I was the only one he was like that with). Hell, I was the only one who even bothered to show a speck of kindness toward him and his now-missing older brother, Merle.

We had been to the CDC, but that had blown up in our faces (literally), and on our way to Fort Benning, we got stuck on a highway into the city. While we were there, a herd of walkers stumbled past us, forcing us to hide under cars. I had saved a little girl's life, but in the process, ended up stranded in the middle of the forest beside the highway.

I was finally found almost a week later. I stumbled upon the highway by chance. Though no one was there anymore, they had left food and a message. "_Kaiya stay here we will come every day_". I had done as I was instructed and only a few minutes after I arrived, Glenn, my best friend since birth, showed up with two others from our group.

They took me back to the Greene farm where they had been staying as the search for me ensued and Carl (the young son of Sheriff Rick Grimes) was sleeping off a gunshot wound.

When I arrived, I learned that Daryl had been searching for me almost nonstop (though back at the CDC he had told me he basically didn't give a flying shit about me) and earlier that day had gotten tossed off a cliff a few times, got his foot chewed on by a walker, got his own arrow stuck in his side, and returned to get shot in the head by Andrea who thought he was a walker. All to get my silly little necklace made of green yarn and stale fruit loops that Glenn had made me for my birthday when we were kids.

The morning after I was found, Daryl and I had a bit of a spat and some things were said that I wish hadn't been. In short, I faked like I didn't love him when it was blatantly obvious to anyone watching that I did. This pissed him off.

That afternoon, Glenn announced that there were walkers in the barn of the Greene farm. This caused a bit of an uproar around camp. No one was comfortable with the idea of those beasts caged up so close to our little settlement. So Rick asked Herschel about taking them out. Herschel said no, so we moved on.

I knew it was a little hard for Glenn; Herschel's daughter Maggie and he had a thing. But he knew it was for the best and besides, when he talked about it, he didn't sound like he really believed their love would've lasted for much longer anyhow.

So here we are, camped in the woods by a river off a highway. The same highway a woman named Emily is currently walking along, scared shitless, and unsuspecting of the group behind the trees that is about to adopt her.

* * *

><p><strong>So this is basically just a recap of what happened in the story before this and a little bit about the beginning of this sequel. <strong>


	2. N00b

KAIYA'S POV:

I sat down in a chair and Shane and Rick walked back into the circle of campers, a woman between them.

It was a woman I had never seen before. She looked to be in her thirties with strawberry blond hair, and bright green eyes. The shape of her nose was kind of funny, turned upwards at an odd angle. She wore her hair down, with slight waves in it. She was a bit taller than me (everybody was) and a little on the pudgy side considering the recent depletion of food and necessity of exercise.

I didn't like the way her eyes lingered on Daryl as she gave our group a quick once-over.

I glanced over at him.

His head was leaned down as he worked at cleaning an arrow, so the front part of his hair was hanging in front of his face, blocking it from her view. He was wearing (as he usually did) a button-up with the sleeves torn off. Due to his lack of sleeves, you could see the thick muscles under his tanned skin flexing and relaxing as he rubbed the arrows clean.

Yes, I could see why she had hesitated to look away from this particular man, but I didn't like it. If she liked his body that much, she had something coming when she saw his face, perfectly shaped with an adorable little mole on the corner of his mouth and piercing cold blue eyes. And that southern drawl that made just about every woman in camp swoon (though they tried to hide it).

He looked up then, sensing the two pairs of eyes on him and the silence that had befallen the group when she walked up. He looked up, his eyes darting to mine first.

I had to fight not to shiver at the beauty of his eyes. I looked over at the girl, but she was grimacing now.

"Everyone," Rick started, gesturing to the new woman. "This is Emily Grayson."

That was all that was said about her, but soon everyone was flocking to her, speaking over one another to introduce themselves.

Daryl and I took this opportunity of distraction to nonchalantly wander off a little farther away from the camp and into the woods. I stopped in front of a tree and turned to him.

He put his hands up on either side of my head and I backed up quickly, pushing my back against the tree and touching it with my fingertips as he leaned down to stare into my eyes. I grabbed his face and pulled it to my own, locking lips with him as he pulled me closer. His hands roamed over my body, squeezing gently and pushing me closer to his body.

He pulled his lips away, leaning his forehead against mine as we both caught our breath, eyes closed.

I slowly opened them. "Daryl?" I whispered.

He made a slight "hmm" noise and opened his eyes to meet mine.

"What are we going to do?"

He frowned and looked down at his feet with a shrug.

I sighed and moved my head to the side so that I could hug him.

I was a very short teenager (something Daryl took pride in pointing out often) and I only came up to about his chest.

He wrapped his warm arms around me and squeezed.

I closed my eyes, trying to savor the moment.

Being in a secret relationship during a zombie apocalypse is about ten times harder than it is in the normal world. I only ever got to be like this around him (or really around him at all) when we were in private. And even then, our time together was fleeting; we didn't want everyone getting suspicious when we had extended absences.

Andrea knew about our feelings towards each other, but she knew nothing about our relationship. We couldn't afford for anyone to know. I hadn't even told Glenn and he was like my big brother.

I wanted this moment to last forever, to stay in his arms permanently and bask in his warmth.

But, inevitably, he sighed and pulled away. "Let's head back. They might miss us if we're gone too long."

I nodded and walked back first, not looking behind me when he followed about five minutes later. No one noticed or said anything.

That girl, Emily, was sitting in the chair beside mine. I went and sat down when I got back.

She looked over at me and held her hand out to me to shake. "Emily Grayson." She had kind of a Yankee accent. Maybe New York.

I shook her hand and said, "Kaiya Caston."

She gave me a confused look, but said nothing as she turned back toward the fire. Yeah, that's right, be confused about my odd name!

Daryl walked past then, going straight over to the folding chair with his crossbow in it. I was watching him, and out of my peripheral, I could see she was, too.

Daryl looked over at us, his blue eyes only partially squinted at us. He seemed to be focusing on me, but I could hear Emily's breathing stop for a second. He nodded slightly to me, not breaking eye contact.

I nodded infinitesimally back and he kept walking.

"Who is _he_?" Emily asked, sounding breathless and smiling.

I looked over. There was a slight blush over her cheeks. "That was Daryl Dixon. World's best squirrel skinner and zombie hunting jerk face." I smirked at the title I had given him when I drew a picture of him in chalk on the pavement of the highway just before I got lost. I wonder if he ever saw that…

"That was you?" Emily asked, turning to face me.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion.

"I saw the chalk drawing on the highway. The stick figure that said Daryl Dixon and then Zombie Hunting Jerk Face."

I smiled. Even in a zombiefied world, good art still circulates. "Yeah, that was me. I was kinda pissed off at him. If you want to avoid any two people in this camp when they're pissed off, its me and Daryl."

"You two close?" she asked, glancing sharply at me.

I blushed, taken aback. I didn't know how I was supposed to answer; we hadn't covered the story we were feeding to strangers we met when going over this oh so well thought out plan for our public distance. I thought about it. May as well tell as much of the truth as I can. "Used to be. Not so much anymore." At least that way if she asked around camp, she would get the same vague story.

She nodded. "Thought so."

"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She kept her eyes focused on the fire in front of her. "You just look a little young for him is all. I mean, what are you? 12?"

I bit back a growl and snarled, "16." before standing and muttering something about going to help with dinner.

I caught Daryl's eye from across camp and he caught my pissed off expression, he glanced over at the Emily girl who smiled flirtatiously at him. I rolled my eyes and stomped away, going to find Andrea to talk to her about how pointless of an emotion jealousy was.


	3. Plan B

KAIYA'S POV:

A WEEK LATER:

"I don't like this much," I grumbled, sitting back against the bed of my truck.

Daryl paced back and forth in front of me. I thought maybe he might be ADD; he seemed to fidget an awful lot. "I'm just sayin'. That way, we could actually talk in camp without bein' paranoid 'bout someone thinkin' somethin'."

I had to admit that the idea of being able to hang out with him like I used to was appealing, but I didn't like the way we would gain that privilege.

"I still don't like it," I said, frowning at my feet.

"Ya don't gotta like it," he growled quietly. "Hell, ya think I like it?" He moved to stand in front of me, standing between my legs that were dangling off the open tailgate. He put his hands down on either side of my legs. "Fuck, Kaiya. Ya gotta know I love ya. I don't want anyone but you. But we might just have to do this. Its not like I feel anythin' for her."

I frowned and looked to the side.

He put a finger under my chin and said, "Hey," softly as he lifted my face so I would look in his blue eyes. He gave me a small half-smile that made my heart flutter. "I love ya." That made it explode.

I grinned back at him. "I know." I leaned forward and pecked him softly on the lips. When I pulled away, I said, "I love you, too."

He chuckled. "Never thought I'd hear ya say that to anyone. Let alone me."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" I asked, shoving his chest playfully.

He chuckled again. "Nothin'."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms with a huff before reluctantly asking, "What's the plan?"

He frowned. "Ya sure ya wanna do this?"

I thought about it and nodded. As long as that bimbo didn't go around rubbing it in my face, I guess it would be worth it to finally have a conversation with Daryl that wasn't whispered in the outskirts of camp.

"I'll just make it seem like I wanna get with her er somethin', she'll fall for it, and that'll throw off the rest of these dumbasses even more. They'll never suspect a thing about us if they think I'm fuckin' the blond bitch."

I grimaced and looked away.

He grabbed my shoulders lightly. "No, I'm not gonna do anythin' like that with her." He moved closer, leaving a slow, gentle kiss on the side of my neck that had me biting my lip. Against my neck, he breathed, "Don't worry. I'm still yer's." His voice had gone deep and a little husky.

I shivered and giggled a little bit. I turned back to him with a smile. "Alright. But I'd better not catch you kissing her or anything." I held up a finger in warning.

He smirked and put one hand over his heart as he held the other up in the air, palm facing me.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his wrist, tugging him back to camp.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys are liking it so far! Thanks for reading. Review! :) <strong>


	4. An Old Friend of Mine

DARYL'S POV:

So the plan had worked. That damn Emily girl had been ecstatic and thrown her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly. But I didn't hug back.

I was a little disappointed that even with Emily being "mine" everyone still watched curiously when Kaiya and I talked. So we had to stop.

It had been about three days of my relationship with Emily and already she was getting extremely annoying. I remembered Kaiya constantly trying to annoy me back at the quarry as if it were her occupation. But she only ever came off as mildly irritating and cute. But this girl was trying way too hard and it was annoying as fuck.

She would always follow me around and ask dumb questions like what I used my crossbow for. What on earth would you ask a question like that for? Like it wasn't obvious, I said, "I, uh… kill stuff."

She made a face at that. Kaiya wouldn't have minded… she would have grinned at the idea. The more time I spent with this crazy bitch, the more I realized just how much I loved Kaiya. There weren't any girls quite like her (especially not anymore).

Kaiya spent the majority of her time chatting with Andrea and glaring across camp at Emily. I thought I understood just how she felt, but then something happened and I really did know EXACTLY how she felt.

One day, when I was hunting in the woods for some food, I heard a branch behind me snap. I turned quickly, but nothing was there. I glanced cautiously around before slinking after the noise. I heard another twig get crushed underfoot and then a sharp inhalation of breath.

It wasn't a walker, I knew that much. But I kept my crossbow up, just in case. I searched behind trees and turned, searching some more. Eventually, a twig snapped right behind me.

I spun, tense. I looked down at the familiar figure. "Oh hell," I muttered, rolling my eyes and dropping my crossbow.

KAIYA'S POV:

I sat in the RV across from Andrea at the table and blew onto the window, drawing in the fog with my finger. I drew an oval and then inside it, I wrote Emily and drew a slash through it.

During the time she had been with us, she had been rude, obnoxious, nosy, and annoying. Nobody really liked her much, but somehow Daryl was able to put up with her a little bit. I hadn't made my feelings towards her a secret, going out of my way to make them known to everyone at any chance I got.

Andrea snickered at my little doodle and in the clear parts of the window, I could see Emily walk past, look up, and then do a double take. She read it, taking a few minutes to flip it around so it wasn't backwards and then glared at me, her nostrils flaring, before she stomped away.

I looked back over at Andrea, who was grinning in the direction Emily had stormed off in. "She stomps any harder, they'll feel it in China," I mumbled, making Andrea laugh some more.

Andrea looked around, making sure no one was around before she said, "So have you told Daryl you love him yet?"

I shook my head no. As far as Andrea knew, we knew nothing about each others' feelings toward one another and we didn't plan on telling each other.

She frowned and was about to say something when she looked out the window and glanced around. "Where is that crazy redneck, anyway?"

I chuckled. "He went hunting earlier this morning."

She grinned at me. "So you're still just about the only one that talks to him?"

I grimaced. "Just about." I nodded to where Emily was talking to Carl with a sneer. Carl turned and rolled his eyes, walking away. I would have to remember to give him a high-five later.

"Oh please, you really think he actually cares what she has to say? That airhead probably just asks him what he does with his crossbow."

I snorted as I remembered Daryl complaining of that exact occurrence just yesterday.

Andrea was about to ask what I was laughing for when a movement outside caught our attention.

Daryl was back and he looked like he was dragging something heavy behind him. Maybe he had caught a deer. Maybe we could eat really good for a day or two (if Emily didn't scarf it all down in one sitting).

Andrea and I hopped up, rushing out of the RV and out into the camp. Everyone was crowding around Daryl and whatever he had dragged back. He had kind of a pissed off look on his face. He stormed away from the crowd, leaving his finding behind in the huddle.

I stared after him, confused.

But then, someone stepped out of the group of people and hugged me. "Hey, there, princesa."

Holy shit…

* * *

><p><strong>Can you guess who that might be? ',:) Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! <strong>


	5. To Death

KAIYA'S POV:

"Miguel, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, squeezing him in a hug.

I couldn't honestly say I was disappointed to see him. Sure the boy had made a complete ass out of me by kissing me in front of Daryl after he had bargained to get me back from my kidnappers in Atlanta (who turned out to be pretty cool guys), but it was nice to know he was alive.

He pulled away, smiling at me. "I knew I'd find you."

I frowned. "Why did you leave the home?" I asked, referring to the nursing home G and his thugs had ran behind a garage, protecting it from walkers.

He got a pained look and gazed down at his feet. "I'm the only one left."

I felt my heart sink. Abuela? Guillermo? Filipe? All of them?

"Oh," I said, casting my face downwards. I saw Daryl grimace out of the corner of my eyes.

Everyone began firing out questions at Miguel, which he answered easily.

"I went to the quarry where you said you were staying and found the note you left for that Morgan guy," he explained, sitting in a chair next to me.

"So I went to the CDC. But it was blown up. I walked around and found the highway where you left the sign for Kaiya and got kind of worried. But I see she's here and safe now." He smiled over at me, dreaminess invading his eyes.

I grinned back at him, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"So eventually, I just kind of stumbled back around here and then he found me," he pointed over at Daryl who was sitting by Emily.

She kept scooting closer to him and trying to lean on him, but he was leaning away. How did she not see that?

Everyone accepted his story and then dispersed after introducing themselves.

I smiled at Miguel and followed Andrea into the RV.

"What was that?" Andrea asked, gazing at me sternly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, leaning back with a confused look.

She gave me an exasperated look and gestured outside. "What's with Romeo?"

I looked out the window to Miguel. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "How do you two know each other?"

It was my turn to sigh. I leaned forward on my arms. "Did we ever tell you about what happened when we went into Atlanta the night before the attack?"

She flinched at the memory of the walker invasion on our camp that took her little sister and my friend Amy, but she shook her head no.

"Well, when we went in to find Merle, all we found was his sawed off hand. We looked around for him in the building, but we didn't go outside because T-dog didn't have a gun. So we went to go and grab the bag of guns Rick left in the street. I was the one to run and get it because I was the smallest and the fastest. So I grabbed it, but when I got back there were these two dudes beating the shit out of Daryl and Glenn. They saw me and the bag and grabbed me, trying to get the bag away from me so they could take it. Daryl shot one of them in the ass and he dropped the bag of guns. But they dragged me into their car instead. Miguel was left in the alley with Daryl, Glenn, T-dog, and Rick."

She nodded. "So when you were traded back, that's when you met?"

I nodded. "We were the hostages. Miguel walked me out when we were leaving. But he kissed me."

Andrea closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. "But you love Daryl," she said, pointing outside to where Daryl was glaring around camp.

I nodded with a sigh. "To death, unfortunately."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Review :) Thanks for reading<strong>


	6. Do They Know?

DARYL'S POV:

I glanced at Kaiya across the fire and nodded infinitesimally to the woods to our left where she had left her truck. We had all parked the vehicles on the outer perimeter of the camp.

She nodded back and stood to go to her tent. She would sneak out the back and meet me at her truck. I stood a few minutes later and turned to go into the woods. Everyone was eating still.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

I rolled my eyes with my back to her and said, "Gotta take a piss."

She let it go and I continued to walk through the trees until I was in sight of Kaiya sitting on the truck bed with her ankles crossed as they dangled off the end of the tailgate.

I stopped a few feet away and smiled lightly at the sight.

She was gazing down at her feet swinging back and forth and her impossibly long black hair fell in a perfectly straight curtain around her face. She was the only girl I had ever even thought the word beautiful toward. And I had a feeling she would be the last.

I moved forward and stood in front of her, staring down into her deep hazel eyes. I watched the spear of green that went in a half circle around the bottom of her irises and the dark brown that spiked out from her pupil, making her eyes an overall light brown with a hint of emerald.

I hadn't realized till I started to lean in that I had lifted my right hand to cup her cheek gently. I kissed her softly on the lips, rubbing a circle over her cheek with the side of my thumb. She broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around my midsection, pulling me closer. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her. I ran a hand over the top of her hair, using a finger to tuck the front of it behind her ear.

She squeezed me tightly. I grew worried after a minute. Kaiya was never this quiet for this long.

"'ts the matter?" I asked, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back slightly. I sat up on the tailgate with her and tossed an arm around her shoulders, drawing her into my side.

"Daryl, I don't know how much more of this I can take," she started, sounding a little like she might cry.

I looked down. She was squinting down at the ground with a frown on her face.

"I hate this. Sneaking off on our own just to be together. And for only a few minutes. I want more than this, Daryl. And I cant stand having to watch her with you when I cant be."

I sighed. "Kaiya, we've been over this-"

"I don't think you get it, Daryl." She looked up at me, a fiery anger in her eyes. I had seen it many of times, but never this influenced by heartbreak.

"You don't know what its like to have to watch someone else get to be with the person you love when you cant even talk to them when other people are around." She crossed her arms with a huff and blinked back a few tears. "I'm starting to think you're just doing this because you're ashamed of me," she muttered quietly.

"Hey!" I said harshly, hopping off of the tailgate to stand in front of her again. I grabbed her shoulders and made her look me in the eyes. "Ya know that's not true. Ya know I love ya and I wouldn't ever be ashamed of ya. I jus' don't know what every'un else'd do if they found out about us."

She sighed and looked straight into my eyes. "Does she even know you? Does she know about that freckle right behind you ear? Or how your terrified of spiders? Does she even know about Merle?" she said the last part in a slight whisper, but it still made me flinch.

"What about Miguel, huh?" I asked, nodding back toward camp. "Does he know yer favorite color is purple? Or that ya had a dog that ya loved to death? What about how ya can dance like nobody's business?" I said the last part proudly, smirking down at her, because I could tell she was getting hurt.

She glared up at me. "No. But I'm not in a fake relationship with him." After she said that, it seemed a light had turned on behind her eyes.

I internally groaned another idea?

"I will be, though," she said, smiling at me and jumping off the tailgate of the truck.

"Kaiya, what are ya talkin' 'bout?" I asked, following after her.

"You get a fake relationship as a cover up, I want one, too. That way maybe we can actually hang out in public like we used to. Just think of it as reassurance," she smiled sweetly back at me.

I was furious with this plan, but I said nothing; it would be no use. Once Kaiya got an idea in her head, it was total rigmarole to get her to stop. So I sighed angrily and walked back into camp as she rounded the trees to go back to her tent under the notice of the other campers.

* * *

><p><strong>And phase 1 of Operation: Drama has commenced :) Hope you liked it! Review! :D <strong>


	7. Love Squared

LORI'S POV:

Surely I wasn't the only one that noticed all this nonsense with Kaiya and Daryl. They used to be so close, always talking and trying to teach each other new things. Now they were so distant. They kept space between them like they would both explode if they got too close to each other. It worried me. Daryl was always a little more calm when she was around and it was only a matter of time before he blew up like crazy.

They threw glances at each other from across camp when they thought no one was looking, and maybe no one did but me. It confused me thoroughly as to why Daryl had gotten together with that Emily girl. I would never in all my life have considered Daryl for the kind to like fat annoying girls.

One night, when we were all sitting around the fire eating, Kaiya stood and went to her tent. Only a few minutes later, Daryl left with the excuse that he had to relieve himself. I knew better, though.

I stood silently and gave Rick a smile before walking over to the RV. When no one was looking, I slipped behind it and into the woods. I circled completely around to the opposite side of camp to where I thought they might be. Kaiya's truck.

Sure enough, soon I found Kaiya sitting on the open tailgate and Daryl standing a few feet away, watching. I stood behind a tree where I could see them, but stay out of their notice.

Daryl moved toward her and stood in front of her. Nothing was said for quite a while. Daryl and Kaiya just stared into each others' eyes. I had never thought Daryl's eyes could hold that kind of emotion. The raw beauty of the scene was heartbreaking.

Then, slowly, his hand came up to cup her cheek. They both leaned in and I bit down on my lip to keep from speaking. I wasn't sure whose side I was on. Did I really want Daryl to kiss her? I felt like I did, but I knew it was wrong. He was at least 20 years older than her! But the way they watched each other… it made me rethink my previous conceptions.

Finally, Daryl's mouth met hers so softly I was sure this wasn't Daryl. Maybe the Daryl we all knew was the evil twin of this one. He was so gentle with her it surprised me. I had never thought that Daryl would be like that with anyone.

She pulled back and hugged him.

He chuckled and hugged her back, smoothing down her long hair and tucking a piece behind her ear. "'ts the matter?" Daryl asked, pulling her shoulders back so he could look at her face. He sat beside her on the tailgate and put an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Daryl, I don't know how much more of this I can take," she said. Her voice sounded broken. What had happened?

"I hate this. Sneaking off on our own just to be together. And for only a few minutes. I want more than this, Daryl. And I cant stand having to watch her with you when I cant be."

Huh… So they had been together the whole time. But then why was Daryl with Emily?

"Kaiya, we've been over this," Daryl sighed.

"I don't think you get it, Daryl," Kaiya said, sounding pissed. She twisted her head to look up at him. "You don't know what its like to have to watch someone else get to be with the person you love when you cant even talk to them when other people are around." She crossed her arms and looked at the ground, muttering something I couldn't quite hear.

"Hey!" Daryl snapped. My heart beat faster; I thought he had seen me. But he got down off the tailgate and faced her, holding her shoulders until she looked at him. "Ya know that's not true. Ya know I love ya and I wouldn't ever be ashamed of ya. I jus' don't know what every'un else'd do if they found out about us."

Well, I know Shane would shit a brick…

Kaiya sighed and looked straight into Daryl's eyes, nonverbally pleading with him to understand how much she was hurting. "Does she even know you? Does she know about that freckle right behind your ear? Or how you're terrified of spiders? Does she even know about Merle?" She said the last part really quietly.

I saw Daryl flinch at the reminder of his brother. "What about Miguel, huh?" Daryl asked, gesturing back to where everyone was still seated around the fire. "Does he know yer favorite color is purple? Or that ya had a dog named Donkey that ya loved to death? What about how ya can dance like nobody's business?" He smirked at her when he said the last part.

It was true. The girl could dance like crazy. I remembered the elaborate dance she had done back at the CDC.

She glared up at Daryl. "No, but I'm not in a fake relationship with him."

So Daryl and Emily's relationship was fake? Well what on earth would they do that for?

"I will be, though," she said, smiling and hopping off the tailgate and walking past Daryl. That poor boy was going to get his heart broken.

"Kaiya, what are ya talkin' 'bout?" Daryl asked, trying to catch up to her.

"You get a fake relationship as a cover up, I want one, too. That way maybe we can actually hang out in public like we used to. Just think of it as reassurance." She smiled back at him.

Oh. I see. So they were trying to draw attention away from their relationship by developing separate ones with other people. Made sense, but I didn't see how this could end up as anything but bad. This meant pain for anyone involved. God I hate love triangles (I know how much they suck from experience), but I could only imagine what a square would do.


	8. Planning on Leaving

KAIYA'S POV:

Starting a fake relationship with Miguel wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. He was a sweet kid, but he wasn't Daryl. At least I got to talk to Daryl more. We actually hung out now.

I was now sitting in a chair beside him outside his tent, helping him skin squirrels. I was actually starting to get the hang of this. I pulled the knife up, but it got stuck again. I sighed. "I can just hear Merle laughing at me," I muttered.

Daryl laughed and grabbed the squirrel from my hand. He finished cutting it and then went to dispose of the squirrel skins while I took the meat to Lori and Carol so they could prepare them for dinner. They smiled gratefully at me, but Lori was looking at me weirdly.

I wondered if maybe I was getting another zit, but shrugged off the idea. No point in getting all teenage angsty right now. I turned away and went to sit in my chair in front of the ring of wood that would soon turn into a fire.

Rick and Shane walked out in front of everybody, their postures calling for attention so their voices didn't have to. Everyone fell silent and looked up at them. "We're moving forward to Fort Benning tomorrow morning. I want everyone to be prepared to head out," Rick said, nodding once to us before going over to Carl and Lori.

Everyone began mumbling amongst themselves.

Daryl returned to sit in front of his tent. Emily walked over and sat down on his leg, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling up at him. He tried to keep from making a face, but looked away. It was a wonder his leg wasn't dead yet.

Miguel came and sat down beside me, pulling his chair a little closer.

I smiled over at him. "Hey."

He smiled back. "Hey, princesa." He seemed to really be attached to that nickname, though Daryl had told him plenty of times with a chuckle, "She ain't no princess." I didn't know what he meant by that, but I would have to remember to ask him.

Miguel reached slowly over, and very hesitantly grabbed my hand, linking our fingers together. I stared at our hands, shocked. Then I looked up.

Daryl was glaring evilly at Miguel. But Miguel didn't notice, he was watching me with a smile. And Emily was totally oblivious to anything but Daryl's "big beefy hunter arms! You must work out, huh?"

That night, after everyone was done eating, we all went into our tents to get some sleep. Glenn and I shared a tent.

"Hey," I said to him, grinning as I walked over to my side of the tent.

He frowned. "Kaiya?"

"Yeah?" I asked, kicking my shoes off.

"Are we still close?"

I looked up at him. He looked a little disappointed and sad. "What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. It seemed like I was doing that a lot more lately.

"It just kind of seems like we don't really talk much. Ever since we found you again…" he trailed off with a sigh. "You're always either wandering off in the woods somewhere or talking to Andrea in the RV. You've never got time for me."

My eyes widened when he mentioned that I had been in the woods a lot lately. At least he didn't know just what I was doing in the woods. I frowned and moved toward him, pulling him into a hug. "Don't worry, Glenn," I whispered. "You'll always be my big brother. How about tomorrow, you ride with me in my truck on our way to Fort Benning?"

He chuckled. "Is that a promise?"

I nodded and pulled out of the hug.

"What about Miguel?"

I thought about that. "He can ride in the RV," I said, shrugging.

Glenn laughed. "But he's your boyfriend."

"Yeah, and?" I asked shrugging.

He just shook his head in a "never mind" fashion. "It kinda confused me at first, though, you know? I mean I always knew in the back of my mind that nothing could really happen between you and Daryl, but I never really totally noticed it until you started going after Miguel. You and Daryl were always so close. I guess it kind of came as a shock to everybody when both of you found different people. We were all kind of subconsciously thinking you two were going to end up together. Even though that's so wrong," Glenn rambled as he changed into his pajamas.

I grimaced. "Yeah…"

I laid down and when I was sure Glenn was asleep, I snuck out of the tent and into the woods, the desert eagle pistol Daryl had given me tucked safely into my waistband. It had been Merle's before, but he wasn't here to use it, so Daryl had let me use it for protection.

I went between the trees and under branches until I came to my truck. Daryl was almost always on watch and he was always on first shift no matter what. His rounds included scouting the perimeter of the camp's borders created by our cars.

So I hopped up into the bed, left the tailgate closed and leaned back against the back window, waiting until I spotted the flashlight Daryl took with him. After about five minutes, I caught a glimpse of the blue-white of the flashlight, moving back and forth to check on either side of him. Soon, the light got closer and I could make out Daryl's body.

"Hey!" I called softly.

He spun to me, shining the light in my face.

"Holy shit, dude!" I whispered loudly. "Point that thing over there!" I gestured into the trees and he changed the flashlight's destination. Though I couldn't see very well for the darkness and the red spots in my vision created by my previous momentary blindness, I could hear Daryl pulling himself up into the bed of my truck.

"What're ya doin' out here? Ya tryin' to get yerself killed?" Daryl asked harshly.

"No. I wanted to come see you."

He sighed after a moment. "Ya should really be more careful."

I sighed and leaned back against the truck as he sat down beside me. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer so I could rest my head on his chest.

"I really don't think we should be doing this whole dating other people thing. Its only gonna hurt everybody."

He sighed again. "Kaiya," he sounded like he wanted to argue with me, but he said no more.

We sat in silence for about five more minutes before I realized something. "What day is it?" I asked abruptly, sitting straight up.

Daryl was flustered for a moment before answering, "Uhh… eleventh of August, I think. Why?"

I glanced back at him. "I've been seventeen for almost two weeks now!" I beamed.

"Ya serious?"

I nodded happily. "July twenty-seventh was my seventeenth birthday."

He smiled. "Happy late birthday, babe." He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me into a long kiss. "Sorry I didn't get ya anything but me."

I laughed lightly, trying to ignore the way my heart stuttered when he called me that. "That's all I need."

He cleared his throat before hesitantly asking. "So why did ya hold the runt's hand?"

I frowned. "What was I supposed to do? Pull away? We are supposed to be dating, it wouldn't be very girlfriend-like of me to not let him hold my hand."

He grimaced.

"Besides," I said, getting defensive. "Its not like I was sitting in his lap. Unlike some people I know."

"When have I ever sat in Miguel's lap?" Guess my smartassedness was rubbing off on him.

I growled, frustrated, and crossed my arms.

My reaction only served to anger him. "C'mon, Kaiya. Git back to camp. I'm gonna keep on watch." He gave me one swift, tense peck on the forehead before jumping down from my truck bed and onto the ground below.

I sighed and left the truck behind, heading back to me and Glenn's tent.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! :) Remember to review; I love to read your thoughts on the story! :D <strong>


	9. The Waiting Game

DARYL'S POV:

The next morning, after a small breakfast of cooked squirrel (which Emily refused to eat) and canned fruit, everyone packed their few belongings into their vehicles.

Kaiya had told Miguel he could ride in the RV because Glenn had already claimed a seat in her truck. The only other seat there was (at least as far as he knew; there was a back seat in her truck). Unless he wanted to sit in the bed as we drove.

I was riding Merle's bike still and sure there was room for one more person, but with all my stuff on it, it would only be a big enough spot for one of the kids or Kaiya. Emily would definitely not fit.

She threw a tantrum when I said she couldn't ride it with me. "Are you calling me fat?" she yelled.

Everyone turned to watch with amused expressions. Rick was holding in chuckles.

Kaiya passed by us, carrying her bag over to her truck. "No, he's calling you healthy," she smirked, half-turning to her as she walked past.

Emily gave her a look of disdain and turned back to me. "So why not?"

It was really because it didn't feel ride riding with someone besides Kaiya. But the weight thing was an obvious problem.

"I cant hold the bike up with anyone else on back," I explained hotly, glaring at her.

No one said anything about the way I talked to her or looked at her with anger so often because this was how they knew me. This was Daryl Dixon being Daryl Dixon. But they knew enough to keep their traps shut about how I wasn't like that with Kaiya, they knew she was the only one I found tolerable around here.

She frowned but sighed, "Okay." and went to climb into the RV. On her way over, I heard her mumble, "Skinny bitch…"

I chuckled and glanced at Kaiya. We had been able to hang out a bit more in public with Emily and Miguel around. But the two didn't seem to like it when we did.

Kaiya came to stand over by me and watched the RV with a thoughtful expression.

I looked down at her. "Thinkin'?"

She nodded.

I strapped my bag onto the back of the bike. "'Bout?"

"Whether or not she'd roll if I pushed her over," Kaiya explained pensively, not taking her eyes off the RV.

I laughed and reached up to ruffle her hair. She glared at me and I chuckled. This was just how it used to be back at the quarry. This was how I liked it. And this was how we could only ever be with two people filling the position of our love lives.

I sighed as Kaiya walked back to her truck. Everyone was filing into the vehicles. I put a leg on the other side of the bike and kicked it life, revving it before I started to lead the caravan.

Kaiya's truck followed shortly after me, then Carol's Cherokee, then the RV, then Shane's jeep.

We rode for hours through main roads outside Atlanta before my bike ran out of fuel. "Great," I muttered, pulling off to the side of the road.

The procession stopped with me. Kaiya and Glenn got out of her truck and Dale, Shane, and Rick jogged up from their vehicles.

"What's the matter?" Dale asked.

"No more goddamn gas," I muttered, glaring down at the bike's handles.

"You can ride with us in the back," Kaiya said, standing up from the driver's seat and resting her crossed arms on the top of the open door.

I looked up and frowned, but nodded. I had to ride in the bed instead of the back seat because Miguel would get suspicious of why she had let me ride and not him.

She pulled herself back inside the truck and shut her door, then the other guys went back to their cars as I pulled the bike farther off the road.

"Merle would kill me," I mumbled, grabbing my stuff off the bike and throwing it into the bed of Kaiya's truck.

The big, black '99 Chevy Z71 had tires almost bigger than Kaiya and big rhino bed bars. When I first saw it on the highway outside Atlanta when the road was backed up with everyone panicking and trying to get out of the city, I had thought it would be some big redneck like me or Merle, but a small, thin girl with hip-length black hair and a fiery temper had stepped out into the white light of my old blue truck's headlights. What had come as even more of a surprise to both me and Merle was when we learned that the girl was only sixteen; she looked far too attractive to be illegal.

The caravan started back up and we drove for a few more hours before the truck stopped. I was about to knock on the window in the back of the truck. But when I turned around to do so, I saw Kaiya motioning frantically for me to get down. Behind her, I could see a large group of walkers making their way toward us.

I still had a while before I had to get down so they wouldn't see me, so I caught Rick's attention (he was driving the Cherokee) and gestured to the walkers ahead. He paled but nodded and said something, everyone crouching down in their seats.

I laid down in the truck bed and in only a few short seconds, I heard the moaning of walkers and the scraping of their feet against the pavement on either side of me. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and hoped everybody behind us had seen the walker herd and ducked.

I gripped my crossbow tightly in my hands and waited.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh the suspense! Hope you liked it! Now its off to school for me :) Review! <strong>


	10. Damage Control

KAIYA'S POV:

I peeked up over the dashboard when the sounds of the walkers stopped. There were none in sight. I looked behind us. They weren't there, either. Probably just passed the jeep Shane was in.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Daryl unharmed in the bed of the truck, laying on his back with his crossbow clutched tightly to his chest. I tapped quietly on the glass. His eyes snapped open and shot to me. I gave him a thumbs up so he could sit up.

I started the truck back up and the rest of the vehicles did the same. I took off as soon as I could just in case the walkers were still around Shane's open jeep and they noticed the roar of the engine before he could move it. We drove until sunset (Glenn and I spent the whole time talking and laughing about memories we shared as kids) when the RV honked its horn with two short beeps.

I pulled over on the side of some old, dirt back road sort of close to Atlanta.

The plan was to travel around the outskirts of the big city and come in at the North edge, closer to where Fort Benning was so we didn't have to travel through as much of the hot zone.

I opened the door and stretched as Glenn hopped down on the other side. I went to the Cherokee first, nodding to Rick before he rolled the window down.

"How is everyone?" I asked, peering in the backseat at Carol and the kids.

"They're okay. They were a little hysterical during that herd passing. I think everyone was afraid we were going to lose you again," Rick said with a smile.

I smirked. "Good to know everyone cares."

Rick chuckled and patted my hand before I walked back to the RV, tapping on the door so Dale would open it. The door opened and Andrea popped out, a pissed off expression on her face. "Stupid Yankee," she growled, pacing angrily up and down the side of the RV.

I gave Glenn a confused look but he just shrugged. I nodded to the RV and Glenn nodded, going inside to check everyone as I dealt with Andrea.

"What happened?" I asked, slightly amused that I was no longer the only one that _completely_ hated Emily.

"She almost got us killed!" Andrea whispered harshly, pointing up at the windows of the RV.

"How?" I asked, leaning back against the RV and furrowing my brows in concern.

Andrea grimaced and crossed her arms, glaring out into the distance at a lonely farm house. "While that herd was passing us, she wouldn't shut up. She just kept jabbering on and on about how she was so scared and she didn't know what she was going to do if Daryl got eaten." Andrea rolled her eyes. "So when I told her to shut up, she started to yell. Thank God T-dog was there. He calmed her down and got her to sit still and be quiet."

I snorted. "T-dog?"

Andrea gave me a quizzical look.

"He doesn't really seem like the woman calming type to me. I don't know, I don't really know him very well." I shrugged and turned to go inside the RV. I nodded to Dale.

He smiled. "Good to see you weren't taken away from us by this herd, too."

I grinned. "It's gonna take a lot more than a herd of walkers to take me away… again."

He chuckled.

It seemed like everyone had been thinking about that last walker herd that got me lost in the woods for almost a week.

I glanced around the inside of the RV. T-dog was sitting on the edge of a bed where Emily was crying her eyes out, rubbing her arm and talking in a low voice to her. It was a wonder that woman made it this long…

I saw Miguel sitting at the table by the window. He looked up and beamed when he caught sight of me. He hopped up and ran to me, hugging me tightly. "I was worried about you, princesa."

I laughed and hugged him back. "Oh please. Like I couldn't have handled myself. I've survived this long haven't I?"

He snickered, but nodded.

I pulled away and started to go back outside to see how Shane was. I saw that he and Andrea were having a bit of a tense-looking discussion and decided I'd better not interrupt. So I went back to the truck.

Daryl was standing in front of it, scouting ahead to make sure no walkers were stumbling into our group.

"Hey cowboy!" I called, reaching into my bag.

He turned and I tossed him a water bottle. He caught it easily. I took the top off mine and lifted it to my mouth. He still hadn't opened it. He was just watching me.

"Bottoms up," I smirked, taking a gulp of the water.

He loosened up and drank some of the water.

I heard a clap and turned around Rick was standing outside the Cherokee, looking around and calling for everyone to come and gather around him as we laid plans out for tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Review! :D <strong>


	11. Just A Kiss

DARYL'S POV:

We assembled a team to go and check out the farm house in the distance down the long dirt driveway that branched off the road. It was me, Rick, Shane, and Kaiya.

"How come she's going?" Emily asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at Kaiya who was loading her gun with bullets and smirking at Glenn as if loading a gun and having a nonchalant conversation was totally normal.

"She's capable," Rick said, passing by us with his own pistol in hand.

I nodded.

"So she can shoot?" Emily asked with a snort.

I nodded. "And she can hit whatever she aims at. She knows how to keep cool under pressure," I explained, cocking my crossbow.

Emily rolled her eyes and the four of us began to walk forward. But then I heard Emily call, "Daryl!"

I turned around to see her jogging toward me, her stomach flopping as she did. I held back a groan. If Merle were here right now…

"What?" I asked, conscious of everyone watching us.

She grinned and stood up on her toes to peck me on the lips. I resisted the urge to spit onto the ground and rub at my mouth like a child. Instead, I glared down at her and turned without another word.

The glare Kaiya was giving Emily was enough to make me glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that look. I ignored Rick, Shane, and everyone else as we walked down the dirt driveway. Rick and Shane fell a bit behind us and I could just barely hear them speaking in tense whispers, but I couldn't tell enough to know what was said.

"What the fuck was that?" Kaiya whispered harshly.

I glanced down at her. Her jaw was clenched tight and she was gripping her gun even tighter. "What do ya mean?" I asked, just as jarringly.

"That goddamn kiss," she spat, glaring up at me.

"Well, looks like ya know what it was," I said sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes with a huff. "I'm serious, Daryl. I'm getting real tired of this bullshit."

I sighed. "I know. Me too."

"So then stop," she pleaded desperately. "Please. I don't know if I can take this much longer."

I was about to respond when Rick and Shane got in hearing distance. Kaiya wiped all traces of emotion from her face quickly and opened the door.

We all gave each other a glance and a nod before we took off in separate directions through the house. I went into the kitchen, Kaiya went through the living room, Rick took the stairs up to the next floor, and Shane went down the hall beside the stairs. There was nothing anywhere in the house it seemed. We all met back out on the front porch.

"So, we staying here or what?" Kaiya asked, squinting out into the distance. It was weird how like each other we were becoming.

Rick sighed. "I guess so. Its either here or just on the side of the road."

We nodded and Kaiya said, "I'll stay here while you go and get the others."

Shane started to protest, "We cant let you stay here alone-"

"I'll stay, too," I said. Not because I didn't think she couldn't take care of herself (I knew she could), but because we really needed to talk alone.

They nodded and started walking back down the stretch of gravel and dirt to the road where the vehicles were.

"So what are we doing, Daryl?" Kaiya asked coolly.

I leaned back against the railing of the porch and looked at her. "I dunno."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning away to lean on her elbows on the rail beside me as I crossed my arms and faced the house.

"Daryl, I'm tired of sneaking around behind everyone's back. I'm tired of pretending to be in a relationship with Miguel when I know lying to him like this is just going to hurt him. I'm tired of having to watch you be with her."

I frowned and looked down.

"Maybe…" she started slowly. "Maybe we should just call it off."

I turned my head quickly to look at her through narrowed eyes. "I already told ya, we gotta do this-"

She shook her head. "I didn't mean with Miguel and Emily."

It took a few seconds for me to let that sink in. Then my heart beat sped up, my face got hotter, and I was biting on the inside of my cheeks to keep my breathing under control.

"I do love you, Daryl," she continued sadly. "But I cant do this anymore. I'm sorry." She wouldn't meet my eyes. She kept them focused ahead at the road. "Here they come," she said, straightening and walking down the front steps of the porch.

I kept my glare trained on the spot she had been a few seconds ago and gripped my shirt tightly. This couldn't seriously be happening.

* * *

><p><strong>:O Who saw that coming? Hope you liked it! Review! :)<strong>


	12. Pairs

KAIYA'S POV:

Daryl would never know how much it hurt me to have to say those things to him, but I knew it had to be done. Sneaking around behind everyone's back was only going to end up badly.

Glenn hopped down out of my truck and handed me my two bags. I slung them around my shoulders and grabbed my other two guns from the truck bed. Emily noted them with caution and walked up the porch steps to Daryl who was glaring at a nonspecific spot on the wooden boards.

I gritted my teeth and walked up the steps and into the house. Once I got inside, I rushed upstairs and into one of the bedrooms. I dropped my stuff onto the bed and came back out into the hall to hold my hand high in the air and say, "Me and Glenn call dibs on this one!"

Glenn grinned and ran upstairs to throw his stuff in, too. When we had all staked out our sleeping areas, (me and Glenn in one room, Lori Rick and Carl in another, Sophia Carol and Andrea in the third, then T-dog Dale Emily Miguel and Shane in the living room as Daryl kept watch), we all met in the kitchen.

"What are we doing for dinner?" Lori asked, looking around the kitchen, empty but for a wood-burning stove and a sink.

Daryl took a look inside his bag. "Still a few squirrels left."

Everyone silently grimaced. Squirrels were okay, but they got old pretty fast.

"I can go hunting tomorrow if we're staying that long," I offered.

A few people gave hesitant nods. I used to go hunting with my dad a lot when I was a kid. I knew what I was doing.

"But isn't Daryl the one that usually hunts?" Emily asked snootily.

I cocked a brow at her. "Exactly my point. Maybe we should let Mr. Hunter Man have a break from hunting for a day or two at least. Besides," I continued, stuffing my hands into my front pockets. "I haven't been on a good hunt in a long while."

Daryl was careful to keep his gaze away from me as I spoke, but nodded when I was done talking.

"Alright," Rick said. "Kaiya goes hunting tomorrow. Tonight, we'll just have to make due with whatever we've still got left."

We nodded and set to searching the cabinets of the kitchen.

"I found something!" Emily called proudly.

We all turned. I rolled my eyes. "It's a can of tuna, hun, not the lottery."

A few people held in a laugh, but Emily just made a face at me. Even Daryl was trying to hide a smirk.

"There's more," Emily said, moving aside so we could see the cabinet behind her. It was filled with tuna.

"Who keeps that much tuna in their house?" I asked, watching as everyone began pulling the cans off the shelves.

"Whoever lived here, obviously," Emily said haughtily.

I rolled my eyes and turned around to walk into the living room where everyone was going to be eating. I sat and watched as everyone began to eat their tuna, but took none myself.

A can was put in front of my face, blocking my view of Carl and Sophia struggling with the slippery cans. I looked at the hand and immediately knew, by the tattoo of a tiny star on his hand that it was Daryl, but I allowed my eyes to travel up the length of his extended arm to see his face. But he didn't seem to really be focusing on me.

I grabbed the can from him as he turned to sit down. It was a can of pair halves. I smiled down at the can. He remembered.

"Why did you give her the fruit?" Emily asked as Daryl sat beside her.

He looked down at his hands as he played with the frayed ending of his jean legs. "She hates tuna. And pairs are her favorite."

Miguel glared at Daryl and Emily glared at me.

I frowned, but kept my head down as Daryl lifted his eyes to gaze over at me from under his eyelashes.

I grabbed the knife out of my belt loop and stuck it hard into the top of the can, prying it upwards so I could get to the pairs. I was grateful to Daryl for finding me something to eat, but at the same time, I was still a little pissed off that he still thought this whole business with Miguel and Emily was any good.

After a nice dinner with lots of chatting, I helped board the windows up as the moms took their kids up to sleep. We also barricaded the door so nothing could get in through there either.

When we were done with that, Daryl grabbed his crossbow and started to make his way into me and Glenn's room.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused. "I thought you were taking watch."

He nodded and continued on into the room. "I am. I'm gettin' up onto the roof for a better lookout."

I nodded as he lifted the window and swung a leg out.

Glenn went downstairs to grab another blanket and left me, standing awkwardly in the doorway, and Daryl, straddling the window sill.

"Look, Daryl-" I started.

"Don't," he said, leaning back against the window's frame. "I don't need to understand why ya did it, I don't need to know why ya did it. I just need to know one thing."

"What?" I whispered, taking a few steps farther into the room.

He turned to look at me, pain evident in his clear blue eyes. "Do ya love him?"

I was caught off guard. Of course I didn't love Miguel. He was a cool guy and all, but he could never be what Daryl was to me.

Before I had a chance to say this, Glenn came back in, a bundle of blankets draped over his arm. "Kaiya, I wasn't sure if you brought your blanket in too, so I- Oh," he said, seeming to realize he had interrupted something important.

Daryl ignored Glenn's obvious discomfort and pulled himself up, muscles tensing as he hoisted himself to the roof.

"Sorry," Glenn said, frowning.

"Its all good," I said, waving my hand around with a smile.

We went to sleep on either sides of the bed that night, but I couldn't sleep very well. Glenn was out like a light in a matter of seconds.

Well into the night, I still wasn't able to sleep and was getting tired of laying there trying. So I sighed quietly and stood, careful not to move the bed too much so I didn't wake Glenn. I tiptoed over to the open window and leaned on my elbows against the sill.

I looked up at the moon and tried to breathe quietly so I could hear the chirping of crickets and the sound of the light breeze. I could also hear something else that didn't quite belong.

I strained to listen closer. It was someone making soft sniffle-whimper noises.

It was Daryl. And he was doing something I had only ever known of him doing once. Daryl Dixon was crying.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, not too Daryl-like there at the end, but whatever. Sorry it took so long for me to update, my computer decided to be stupid :P Hope you liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	13. Ultimate Betrayal

KAIYA'S POV:

The next morning, I woke to see Glenn was already gone and Daryl was just climbing in through the window. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Sorry," he muttered, beginning to walk to the door. "Didn't mean to wake ya."

"Daryl, wait," I said, holding a hand up as I stood.

He paused, his hand on the doorknob. He let out a sigh and slowly turned to me.

I walked around the edge of the bed and over to him. I reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together. "Please," I said, staring up into his blue eyes and silently begging with him to see how much this whole ordeal was hurting me.

He shook his head. "We either keep doin' this with Emily and yer little Spic, or we don't do anything at all."

I felt like I had been slapped.

I yanked my hand back, letting all of my hurt show itself on my face as I backed away. "Does she really mean that much to you?" I spat, looking away from him and letting anger replace my hurt.

He growled. "Kaiya… Yer so stupid sometimes!" He threw the door open and rushed out, closing it quietly behind him.

I was surprised he hadn't slammed it shut.

I stood still, staring at the floor, in the middle of the room for about 5 minutes before I finally went downstairs. Something was cooking. The last of the squirrels probably. I grabbed a few pieces of the cooked meat, loaded up my rifle, said goodbye to Glenn, and then took off for the woods out behind the house.

I had thought that not hunting for so long would've made me a bit rusty, but by the time I was done, I had 2 rabbits tied to my belt, and was hauling a large buck back to the house. I was grateful that I wasn't far from the house when I brought it down, or I would've had hell dragging it back.

After dropping the deer and rabbits off on the front porch, where Shane and Rick were admiring my work, I ventured over to the RV to put away the left over bullets. But what I found in the RV was not what I had expected. And way more heartbreaking.

DARYL'S POV:

It was stupid and immature of me to do, but I was hurt and mad and all kinds of emotions that just don't go together. I had gone to Emily with intent. I wanted to forget about Kaiya for a while (though it hadn't worked). I wanted to remember a little bit of my old life. Sure Emily wasn't quite as attractive as some of the other girls I had hooked up with in a drunken stupor in my past life, but she was there and willing.

But then Kaiya had walked in. I hadn't heard her at first, but when the _clack-thud _of a gun hitting the ground and the gasp of a young woman reached my ears, I turned around.

"Oh shit," I groaned.

Tears were beginning to pool in her eyes and she was shaking her head back and forth.

I hopped up off of Emily and pulled on a pair of pants as Kaiya ran out of the RV. "Kaiya, wait!" I called.

"Daryl! Get back here!" Emily called to me as I raced out of the RV.

"Kaiya, please!" I called, seeing her run over to her truck.

She got in and locked the doors, leaning her head against the steering wheel.

I was breathing hard by the time I reached her window. I leaned my forehead against it and put a hand up against the cold glass. "Please, Kaiya," I said softly.

"Please what?" she yelled, glaring over at me through the glass.

"Talk to me. Let me explain."

"Why should I? After everything you've done to hurt me lately? What makes you think you deserve it?" Tears were pouring down her face in a cascade.

I closed my eyes. Her words had hit home. I finally realized that everything I thought I had been doing for our own good had just been hurting her. Obviously very badly. And I had just slept with Emily. Dear God, did I not have standards?

I opened my eyes and stepped away, looking straight in her eyes as she cried. "I don't."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Review! :) <strong>


	14. Best Friends

KAIYA'S POV:

I was surprised the whole ordeal hadn't attracted any attention. Shane and Rick had left the front porch to haul my buck inside, so they weren't there to see Daryl calling my name and running like a shirtless madman after me.

I sighed, leaving my eyes closed as my tears dripped down onto the steering wheel.

He was still sitting outside my door. I didn't have to open my eyes to know that. He would probably be out there all day until I came out of the truck.

Something outside the door moved and when I looked up, Emily was coming out of the RV, her clothes on, but rumpled and her hair askew. I was surprised that she hadn't worn Daryl's shirt out. But then I remembered the obvious difference in size between the two.

I scoffed at her and felt a whole new round of tears starting. He had gone behind my back for _that_?

I wiped at my eyes as Emily approached the spot where Daryl was leaning against my truck door. "Daryl, what are you doing?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Sittin', what the fuck's it look like?"

Normally I would've smiled, but right now I just wasn't up for it.

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Why do you have to explain yourself to _her_? Why do you care so much what she thinks? Its not like she's going to get the wrong impression or anything; she knows what we were doing."

I was about ready to punch a hole straight through that prissy bitch's teeth.

Daryl grumbled begrudgingly, "'Cause she's my best friend."

It shouldn't have been a surprise; I was his only friend, really, the only person that would even talk to him like he was a normal person. People just didn't want to try enough to get past that mean redneck exterior. They didn't know the Daryl I knew. He could be nice, he had his sweet moments, and he was actually very smart. No, the rest of the camp would never believe that the man they all subconsciously tagged as the dumb, temperamental hillbilly was actually the person I knew he was.

But it surprised me a lot to hear him openly admit this. He hadn't even said that to me, and here he was saying it to someone else in camp. I wanted to hug him, but I was still mad, so I gripped the bottom of the steering wheel as Emily stomped away.

Daryl stood and knocked on the window to my door.

I sighed and kept my gaze glued to the ignition as I rolled the window down. "What?" I asked quietly, a few more tears sliding down my face.

"I'm sorry." Daryl hardly ever apologized to anyone. It was just who he was. So his sincere-sounding apology was something to marvel at. "I don't think ya'll ever forgive me, but I am sorry." His southern drawl made his apology a little less tense, but still, the mood of hurt and regret was there.

I glanced over at him, but he was starting to walk away. I sighed and slammed my head down onto the steering wheel, sobs racking my body.

I sat in the truck crying for about 10 minutes before I pulled the visor down and looked in the mirror on the back of it. My eyes were a little red and puffy, but unless anyone looked closely (I wasn't planning on letting them), no one would notice.

I got out of the truck with a sigh and walked back into the house. Just my luck. The first person I passed (Glenn) noticed that something was up. "Kaiya? What's wrong?"

No one else was around, which I was thankful for. I didn't feel up to a full-length investigation.

"Why don't you go ask the sleeveless wonder?" I growled, trudging up the stairs two at a time and into our room. I flung myself down onto the bed and started to cry again.

When there was a knock at the bedroom door and I called "its open," I had figured Glenn would be the one to come in. But it wasn't Glenn. It wasn't even Daryl.

* * *

><p><strong>Can you guess who it is? :D I am almost 100% sure you can't! But you should try anyway. Hope you liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	15. Rick and The Confession

EMILY'S POV:

I grimaced and walked back to the RV.

How could he do that? Just walk out in the middle of that like he did? And for that dumb little tramp?

What was it with those two? I know Kaiya had said that they used to be close, but they weren't anymore. They seemed to keep a lot of distance between them, but when they didn't, they were too close for my liking.

I sighed and fell back onto the bed in the back of the RV.

"I miss New York," I whined, pouting at the roof. I missed my small apartment down the street from the office I worked at. I missed my cat Philip. I even missed my boss. Sure he gave me assloads of paperwork, but at least back then he wasn't trying to gnaw my face off (not like he was now, anyway).

I sighed and turned onto my back, laying like I had been only a few minutes ago. Only a few things were different. Now I had clothes on, and now Daryl wasn't on top of me.

I heard someone enter the RV and looked up. Daryl was walking in, a frown on his face and his eyes glued to the floor. He walked back and started to lean down.

"We gonna finish this up, or what?" I asked, smirking and laying on my side with my head resting on my propped-up hand.

He grimaced and grabbed his shirt from the floor, starting to pull it on. "No." Without another word, he turned and left the RV.

I sighed and leaned back, frustrated.

It was all that stupid girl's fault.

KAIYA'S POV:

"Rick," I said, sitting up and wiping hastily at my eyes. "Come in."

He entered with a small, sad smile, shutting the door behind him. He awkwardly walked over to the bed and sat down. "I heard Glenn ask what was wrong and thought I'd come check on you. Guess its worse than I thought." He chuckled nervously.

I could tell he wasn't that great with dealing with girl problems and the like.

"You have no idea," I mumbled.

He looked over at me. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

_Hell no! You're a police officer and I was technically dating a man almost twice my age! _

"Its okay if you don't, I get it. But I do know about you and Daryl."

My eyes widened and I looked up at him, my face burning. "What?" I asked, mortified.

He nodded. "Lori told me. She saw you two talking in the woods one day."

I groaned and facepalmed. "Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about an illegal couple anymore. We're over as of yesterday."

Rick looked surprised. "Really? Then why are you so sad?"

I gave a small smirk. "I said we were over. Not that I don't care about him."

Rick skipped a beat before asking, "How much do you care about him?"

"Too much for my own damn good," I sighed, leaning back on my arms.

"You seem to be the only one that really expresses that," Rick noted. "So are you going to tell me what happened?"

I sighed. "Yesterday we called off the whole secret relationship thing. I was tired of sneaking around and I didn't want Miguel to get hurt. Screw Emily, if I could hurt her in any way, I would."

Rick chuckled.

"But then today, when I got back from my hunt, I went to the RV. And they- they were…" I trailed off, tears pricking at the edge of my eyes.

Rick nodded, closing his eyes. "That's kind of gross to know, but thank you for telling me what's wrong."

I nodded.

"So why the fake relationships?" Rick asked after a few seconds of silent sitting.

"We didn't want everyone knowing about us. I'm only seventeen and he didn't know what the rest of you would do if you found out."

"Seventeen? I thought you were sixteen," Rick said, raising his eyebrows.

I nodded, grinning a little. "Turned seventeen almost two weeks ago."

"Well, happy late birthday." We sat quietly for a few more minutes before Rick said, "I honestly am still struggling with the idea of you and Daryl. It goes against my morals and it doesn't seem right when you think about just two people and their ages. But when I think about you and Daryl and how you used to be back at the quarry and even sometimes now when you are around each other… It kind of makes me change my mind. Normally I would say that the fact that its Daryl makes the situation worse, but honestly, you two seem so… right."

I smiled. "Thanks, sheriff."

He nodded and stood to leave.

Rick had made me see something in that conversation. Daryl and I might look right and we might feel right, but we weren't. We were wrong no matter how right we seemed to be to others and ourselves. We weren't good for each other.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Love is a bitch."

* * *

><p><strong>Bet you weren't expecting Rick, huh? :D Mwahahaha! Anyway, hope you liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	16. Punch

KAIYA'S POV:

I was going outside where everybody else was to go talk to Daryl. I was planning on asking him if we could talk alone and then I was going to tell him about my new revelation. We didn't need to be together and we should just stay apart.

But Daryl wasn't around. I asked Shane and he nodded into the RV. Emily was wandering around beside it. I chose to wait a few feet away.

"Why do you keep following him around, you little creep?" she said quietly. "I thought he made it pretty clear he doesn't care about you."

I sighed and closed my eyes, squeezing my hands into fists. I counted to three as I waited for my anger to subside. I breathed through my nose and tried to ignore the echoing of her words in my head. I bit down on my anger and opened my eyes, smiling fakely at her without showing my teeth.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. Daryl walked out of the RV, so he was standing behind her, and shook his head at me, sensing the anger building in me. She wasn't worth it.

I calmed down and began to walk past her, Daryl following beside me.

"Not like he would actually ever care about some little bitch like you…"

I lost it. I let loose with a loud growl and spun, flinging my fist into the side of her face. She fell onto her back on the ground and I pounced on her.

"Stupid bitch!" I yelled, throwing a second punch at her face. Before I could land a third, I was hauled backwards and up. Daryl had his arms around my waist, holding me back.

Shane helped Emily stand back up.

"Calm down," Daryl breathed firmly in my ear.

I wasn't one to follow orders easily (especially when I was already pissed at the one delivering them). I grunted and struggled against Daryl's restraining arms, reaching out with both of mine.

Shane moved forward to help Daryl hold me back, but because my hair was in my eyes and I couldn't see, I ended up hitting Shane square in the jaw. Caught off guard by the attack, he fell to his stomach with an "oomph". I felt a little bad, but I didn't have the time to apologize; I was in the ass kicking zone.

Shane was up soon and he and Daryl held me back until my breathing slowed and my vision was less red. I was still pissed, but I was less violent. Being pissed off only made me more mad at Daryl for what he had done earlier.

I glared at him over my shoulder and jerked out of their hold. "Get your fucking hands off me," I growled. I stood and took a few slow steps forward until I was just a few inches from Emily. I noticed everyone around us tense, but they seemed to understand that I wasn't going to punch her again, so they did nothing.

Emily flinched, fright clear in her eyes.

"You want to be careful, Yankee girl," I warned in a low whisper. I turned to look at the rest of the campers who were watching with mixed expressions, but I couldn't meet anyone's eyes.

So I stormed off to my truck, searching for something I always kept in my glove box for times like this. I rifled through papers, ketchup packets, Sonic peppermints, and old photos until I found the squishy black cylinder.

My parents had gotten me the stress toy in the seventh grade when I was sent to the school councilor for hitting some kid like I just had with Emily. He had diagnosed my anger as stress, but I'm guessing he never made it past high school, because I hadn't been stressed out in the least. However, the stress toy was very calming and I used to use it often when I felt like hauling off and beating someone down.

Unfortunately, this time, I hadn't thought about it until after I had already knocked Emily a few punches. I rolled the toy around in my hand, squeezing it until I thought it might explode.

"Kaiya?" I heard a small voice ask. I looked down. Sophia was looking up at me, looking a little bit scared.

"Hey, Soph. Its alright, I've calmed down."

She smiled hesitantly and nodded, pulling herself up into the tall truck to sit in my lap.

"Wanna listen to some music?" I asked, grabbing my CD case from the center console.

She nodded and I handed her the case to look through. She flipped through a couple before excitedly pointing to one and saying, "This one!"

I smiled and popped the old Shania Twain CD into the player. I flipped through the tracks before landing on the one I had been obsessed with when I was six. "Man… I feel like a woman!" Sophia and I sang, drawing the attention of the nearby campers.

Carol smiled at the sight of us, Carl ran over to sing with us, Lori face palmed at the words coming out of her son's mouth, Glenn rolled his eyes in remembrance of the song I used to force him to listen to all the time, Andrea laughed and beamed over at us, Emily sneered, T-dog and Dale grinned, Shane even cracked a smirk, and Daryl just watched.

When the song was over, Sophia said, "Dance, Kaiya!" I nodded and picked the CD book back up and put in another CD, flipping to one of my favorite songs. I picked Sophia up as I stood from my seat, taking a few deep breaths. I set her back down in the seat and everybody began to watch me, anxious to see what my concentration was aimed towards.

The few beats before the chorus kicked in started up and very few people made reminiscent faces. I was more than a little surprised to see that Shane was one of them. So was Dale… ew.

In the beginning part of the song, I zipped my jacket up and pulled the hood over my head. I sat still, watching the ground through the whole beginning chorus. "I-I-I-I can make yo bed rock!" I heard a few people snort at the cheesy pickup line being made into a song.

When the bridge came around, I started to dance.

I kicked one foot up, staying in place, and brought my hands around in an arc until they met just in front of my chest. Then I put one on top of the other, palm-down, as I shifted them from one side of my body to the other, moving my body in opposition to their direction. I moved one down to my hip and then brought both up to each side of my chest, stepping out to my left.

I stepped completely to the right, my body facing the right but my head facing forward, and put one hand on my heart as I popped my chest out. I stepped forward again in the same fashion and then kept my whole body still as I let one hand fall down to snap near my hips. I pointed out to the right with both of my hands and brought them both up in a figure-8 motion behind my head where I popped my whole body.

I made fists and jumped in the air, beating downward with my hands as I did. When I landed on my feet, I left my arms vertical, moving both in synchronism as I moved them to the right and my body moved left. I flipped one foot in front of me then back, using that planted foot as propulsion for a one-eighty spin.

"Like back-" I leaned my body in one direction, making a goofy expression.

"-forth-" I leaned in the other direction, doing a silly pose.

"-hold it!" I made a ballet pose and held it until the beat kicked back in.

The pose was something I had picked up in my ballet classes. My mother had insisted that if I was going to dance, I had to also be in ballet and gymnastics. Hence the ballet orientation of my pose.

It was one of the more simple ones. I kept one foot planted and lifted the other into the air, making the part of my body above my hips parallel to the ground as I spread my arms backward to hold the foot that was in the air.

I normally had no balance whatsoever. But when I dance (or shoot) I'm incredibly still.

When the beat dropped again, I straightened and took a deep breath as everyone (sans Emily, who was grimacing deeply at me with hatred very clear in her green eyes) clapped. I grinned, trying to catch my breath after the complicated moves. I looked over at Daryl. He was watching me with a happy glimmer in his eye and a smile ghosting around the edges of his lips.

I smiled as I turned back to Sophia and got back into the truck to change the song before it got to the parts the kids didn't need to hear.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay more Kaiya dancing! :D Thanks for readingreviewing hope you guys liked it! :) **


	17. No Left Hand

KAIYA'S POV:

That night, we had cooked venison.

Though I was still a little pissed off, dancing earlier for everyone had made me feel a little better. Miguel had been particularly impressed. "That was amazing, princesa!" he'd said. "How did you learn to do that?"

I sat in the living room with everyone, Sophia and Carl on either side of me and Glenn on the other side of Sophia. We were all chewing on our dinner and laughing about the various stories told by random people. We had just got through listening to one about when Dale had gone to Michigan with his wife and they had to go all the way back home because she had forgotten her hairbrush.

Shane stood up and began to walk outside. I watched him walk out and decided to go and speak with him. Of all the campers, I felt I knew him least of all. I had never really had a full conversation with the guy, but what little I had heard come out of his mouth had been unpleasant for me to listen to.

I stood and walked outside, sitting down on the step beside Shane.

He was completely silent for a while, only sparing me one offhand glance out of the corner of his eyes. "What's up?" he finally asked when he saw that I wasn't going to be the one to break the silence.

I sighed and shrugged. "Not much. What's up with you?"

He shook his head with a nonchalant shrug, turning to look at the land to our left. "Nothin' new."

I nodded and wrapped my arms around my legs, pulling my knees to my chest. We sat in silence for a long while before I saw something moving in the darkness. I stood and squinted down the long dirt driveway at it.

"What is it?" Shane asked tensely, standing and going rigid.

"I don't know," I muttered, trying to see through the dark night at it. It was a person. I could tell it was a real person and not just a walker because it wasn't limping and it was sprinting. "That's a person!" I said, pointing out at it.

Shane moved forward to get a better look at it.

I saw something behind it move and tried to focus in on it. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were more people. But these ones were limping.

"Walkers!" I said, grabbing Shane's shoulder and pointing behind the running man.

Shane turned to me. "Go inside. Tell everybody to get down and get ready for those things. If he leads them here, they're likely to stay a while."

I nodded and ran inside. Everyone was still laughing about something someone had said, but when I rushed in with a frantic look in my eye, all attention was turned to me with seriousness. "Walkers," I said firmly.

Everyone scrambled to get to each other. Carol grabbed Sophia up, Rick peeked out the door as Lori grabbed Carl and led him and Carol upstairs. Everyone followed Lori's lead and headed upstairs. I grabbed Glenn's hand and pulled him up into our room. Daryl, Emily, Miguel, and T-dog followed after us. Daryl had grabbed his crossbow from the living room before we had rushed out.

Glenn and I hid under the bed, Daryl stood right next to the closed door, squished up against the wall, and Emily Miguel and T-dog hid in the closet.

The front door opened and closed and a pair of rushed feet from the man that had been running up the driveway was heard coming up the stairs. After him, came the pounding of the walkers on the front door. The door handle to the room we were in jiggled.

I peeked up at Daryl from under the bed. He looked down at me then back at the door handle.

The door opened and the man walked in almost casually. But there was one thing I thought was kind of odd about him. At least I thought it was odd until I realized who it was. The man had no left hand.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm pretty sure you guys can tell who that one is :P But if you cant, I'm going to leave you hanging :D 'cause I'm just evil like that. Mwahahaha! Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :) <strong>


	18. Another Old Friend

KAIYA'S POV:

"Merle?" Daryl asked quietly, drawing Merle's attention to him.

He spun quickly, looking ready to attack. But then he saw that it was Daryl and gave a small laugh. "How goes it, baby brother?"

"What in the hell?" I hissed, crawling out from under the bed.

Merle turned to me, a calm smile on his face. "Hey there, baby doll."

"What the fuck is going on here?" I asked as Glenn crawled out from under the bed, his face pale as he looked at Merle, our previously presumably missing man.

"I don't think now is exactly the time," Glenn said in a panicky voice as the walkers downstairs began getting more aggressive, pounding harder and harder on the door, threatening to break through at any minute.

My heart beat kicked up. "There's no backdoor to this place," I said urgently, looking around at the men.

"I'll go get the others," Glenn said, rushing out of the door.

Miguel, Emily, and T-dog burst through the closet door.

Merle's face darkened when his eyes fell on T-dog. "Hey there, butterfingers," he sneered.

T-dog scowled, but somehow managed to look completely surprised at the same time. "How'd you get out of the city?" T-dog asked, ignoring Merle's earlier jibe.

Miguel and Emily looked on confusedly having never met Daryl's older brother before.

"Not the time," Merle said, suddenly all business, the smirk wiped off his face. He was obviously quite pleased with himself; he had made it out of the city when no one believed he would.

It just goes to show that you have a better chance of survival if you're a mean, tough redneck. From the stories I had heard the Dixon boys tell, Merle had survived a lot of things: raging bar fights, wrestling with a bear on a hunting trip (though I had a feeling that one had been made up as Daryl wasn't there to sort out the details), and the clap. And now he had been through an entire city filled with walkers without his left hand.

It was all of these things combined that gave me a high respect for the racist, sexist, druggie of a hick in front of me. If anyone could pull through this whole thing it was him. And, of course, Daryl.

Everyone came filing into the room, every one of them looking worried and shell-shocked to see that Merle was back with us. Sophia and Carl were crying and clinging to their mothers, but they had been crying before they had come into the room so I guess it wasn't because of Merle. He could be a bit intimidating. And probably pretty scary to the kids.

"We need to get out of here," Shane said, his voice immediately going into the leader mode it had been since day one. Though ever since Rick had joined our group, it had been slightly defensive and almost questioning.

Rick nodded. "They could be all over the place. They know we're in here and they are about to break through that door. They are all around the vehicles."

Everyone seemed to want to take care of the Merle issue later, when it was safer. Good plan.

"The window," I said, pointing behind Rick.

"What about it?" Shane asked sneeringly.

I rolled my eyes at him with a scoff. "Well, if your head isn't as big as Barney Fife's, here," Shane scowled. "Then we can all fit through this window. It shouldn't be too big of a drop and I'm pretty sure there are some pipes going down the side."

The mothers looked anxious. "What about the children?" Carol asked.

"Well, its this or nothing," I said with a regret-filled tone.

She nodded quickly as the poundings of the walkers got still louder, adding effect to my statement.

I threw the window open quickly and glanced outside. There were some thin pipes, but we couldn't be sure how well they would hold. At the end of the pipes was about a five foot drop.

"Alright, mothers go first," I said, careful to avoid the word women.

We needed the lightest to go first (the kids) but the mothers would get anxious with their children down there when there could be a walker just around the corner. Lori and Carol both looked pretty light.

Rick handed Lori a gun and then kissed her softly before letting her crawl out of the window, Carol following in her tracks. They both hit the ground with a soft thud and a slight stumble, but I doubted if the walkers could hear with all of their pounding and moaning.

"Okay, now for the kids."

The stepped forward nervously. I bent to their height, trying to give them instructions fast before those walkers got in. "Okay, just hold on tight and make your way slowly down, okay? Your moms will be at the bottom waiting for you."

They nodded slowly. Each of them threw their arms around me at the same time. I wrapped my arms around both of them, giving each a peck on the cheek before helping them out of the window. I was aware of everyone watching.

When the kids were down, I said, "Andrea, you're next."

She gave me a quick hug and made her way down the pipe easily.

"Alright, Merle next. He's crippled."

He grimaced at my statement, but threw himself over the edge of the window sill and backed himself down the pipe, sliding down with his one hand wrapped tightly around the pipe.

When he hit the ground solidly on his feet, I turned around without meeting his eyes. "Daryl next."

He passed by me and handed me his crossbow. "Throw it out when I git down."

I nodded without looking at him. I did watch as he made his way easily down the pipe and jumped down the five feet. I threw the crossbow down to him, glad that he caught it with ease. "Rick, you're next."

He started to argue but I said, "We're going by weight here. We need the lightest people to go down first so the pipe doesn't break until the last minute. We cant afford for it to break sooner than that."

He nodded. "What about you?" he asked, swinging a leg over the sill.

I cracked a smile. "I think I'm the only one that could make my way down without the pipe, so I'll be monitoring weight capacity."

He nodded once more and started to shimmy down the drain pipe. The pipe creaked.

"Miguel." He stepped forward, kissed me full on the lips and started to back down the pipe.

"Shane." He moved past me and crawled down, the pipe creaking a little bit more.

"Dale." He made it down surprisingly easy for how old he was. It creaked even more.

"Its not gonna hold for much longer. Get down as fast as you can, T-dog." He nodded and jogged forward, going down the pipe.

"Okay, Emily its your turn."

She nodded, looking a little pissed about being the last next to me to go; it meant she was the heaviest of the group. She backed down the pipe slowly. Its creaking was getting worse. I hoped the walkers wouldn't hear it. She got about halfway down when her weight began to drag the pipe away from the wall.

"Go faster!" I hissed down to her.

She scampered down, the pipe falling off more and more as she went farther. She got to the drop and let go, falling back on her ass. It took all I had not to burst out with laughter. But the pipe fell completely away from the wall with a loud clang. The walkers would no doubt have heard that.

I noticed everyone look away from the window where I was to the corner of the house. They started to run. All except Daryl, Glenn, and Miguel.

"Kaiya, jump!" Daryl yelled.

"On what?" I yelled back, looking panicked down at the ground.

"Me!" He held his arms open and stood beneath the window.

Glenn started bashing approaching walkers over the head with a bat and Miguel stood behind Daryl, watching nervously.

I swung a leg over the sill and took a few deep breaths before tossing myself out sideways with a quiet squeak. I kept my eyes squeezed closed as I fell, trying to flail as little as possible so as not to look like an idiot before I died. _Daryl, you had better catch me, _I thought a few seconds before I felt myself cradled in someone's arms.

"Glenn, lets go!" Daryl yelled, beginning to run with me still in his arms.

Glenn stopped fighting the walkers and he and Miguel began to run after me and Daryl. We ran around the back of the house, the grunts of walkers behind us.

"Get to the cars, they're following us!" I yelled when we caught up to everyone else.

Daryl set me down then and we all sprinted to our respectable vehicles (Daryl and Merle in the bed of my truck), starting them up as quickly as we could.

Just as I turned the key in my truck's ignition, walkers began to appear around the side of the house. I quickly put the car in reverse and hit the gas hard, throwing us backwards. I looked out of the back window, thankful that Daryl and Merle had moved out of the way so I could see. I drove the whole driveway backwards as everyone pulled out behind me (or I guess it would be in front of me). When we got to the road, I backed down the turn to the left for everybody else, right for me. Everyone went ahead of me as I flipped the truck back into drive and sped after them at the end of the caravan right after Shane.

When we were about a mile away from the house, I breathed a quick sigh of relief. We had all made it. Even Merle.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked it! Review! :)<strong>


	19. Suicide

KAIYA'S POV:

Everything around me was going past in a dark blur as I sped by in my big black truck.

Merle and Daryl were still sitting silently in the bed of the truck. Or at least I thought they were silent. I couldn't tell through the glass, so they could've been screaming for all I knew.

Shane's Jeep pulled over in front of me. I stopped with him, shutting the engine off and plunging the truck into silence.

Glenn sighed and rubbed at his eyes.

"What's up?" I asked as everyone filed out of their cars and Daryl and Merle hopped off of the bed of my truck.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," he murmured softly. I found it sadly ironic that those were the same words I had told Daryl not so long ago.

"What do you mean?" I asked, concerned.

He leaned his forehead against the window and sighed, watching the still landscape outside. "All of this running. We can never just stay in one place, can we? And you keep almost getting kill, Kaiya. Do you know what that's like for me? To watch the only thing I have left of a family almost get eaten right in front of me every other day?"

I sighed. "I can imagine its not great."

He looked up at me. "I hate living like this Kaiya."

His tone (as well as the almost desperate look in his eyes) finally coaxed an appropriate response from me. "Glenn, you're not seriously considering suicide?" My tone had changed to one of panic and it was dangerously close to tears.

He swallowed and looked away.

"Glenn," I said firmly, grabbing his arm. "Glenn, you cant do that, alright? Because I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. You've been with me since I was born. I could live without you. And I'm not the only one." I looked pointedly around at everyone outside staring at Merle incredulously, finally able to deal with their surprise semi-safely. "There need you, too. Even if some of them wont admit it. So you just cant decide to quit without even thinking about all the people you'd be hurting. So just don't even think about it."

He frowned, but nodded.

"Now lets go," I said, opening my door and beginning to get out. "It looks like shit's about to go down."

Oo0oO

We set up camp right off the road in the open which meant that more than one person was going to have to be on watch tonight.

People adjusted to Merle's sudden presence way quicker than I would have thought possible. No one asked him any questions about how he got out of the city, or what happened while he was there. Nobody wanted to interrupt him glaring over the guilty men who left him to die. Rick and T-dog in particular. And they were the ones who looked the most uncomfortable.

Though nobody seemed to want to approach him, I was curious to know Merle's story. But I figured waiting until we weren't around everyone would be better; getting him to talk about his struggle through the city would probably just remind him of those who condemned him in the first place. That would end up bad. Best to leave T-dog and Rick out of my inquisition.

That afternoon, while everyone was bustling around, busying themselves with rationing out food, I walked over to Merle and Daryl who were speaking in low, terse voices.

"Merle," I said, almost sighing the name.

Daryl and Merle both looked over at me.

Merle surprised me by taking a few quick steps forward and picking me up in a hug. My arms instinctively wrapped around the large man's shoulders as he lifted me, more in the interest of self-preservation than actual desire, though both were present.

"Good to see ya 'gin, baby doll."

I smirked and took a step away as my feet touched the ground. "You too, Merle."

Daryl grimaced and started to walk away. It seemed that was all he ever did around his older brother.

I gestured for Merle to follow me over to my truck where I lowered tailgate and hopped up.

Merle sighed and sat down beside me. "Ya wanna know how I got out, huh?"

I nodded sheepishly, glancing over at him and then back down at my crossed ankles.

He sighed again. "I guess ya saw the hand at the top o' the department store… I cut my own hand off with a goddamn saw. Then I ran through the next buildin' over and closed up the stump with a hot iron."

I flinched involuntarily at the reminder of his missing appendage and all the hell we had gone through just to get to it.

"After that, I had to get some sleep so I didn't pass out in the middle o' the street with all those walkers 'round. I slept in a room I blocked off with furniture. The next day, I got out o' the city. When I made it to the quarry, y'all were already gone. Found a note left fer some Morgan guy."

My stomach clenched painfully at the thought of what it must've been like to go back to the only people you had left and find them gone and I suddenly regretted not throwing all of my concentration into his hug.

"I just kinda wandered 'round for a while after that. I found the highway where y'all were. I knew y'all had been there 'cause I saw the drawin' o' Daryl." He chuckled and shook his head with a grin.

I smirked.

"And I saw the sign they left fer ya. Thought ya had died er somethin'."

I noticed the slightly protective and sad-ish tone his voice had taken on.

I grinned and turned to him with an incredulous expression. "Was Merle Dixon worried about me?" I asked, surprised at the words coming out of my mouth.

He looked up quickly and grimaced. "Don't go shootin' yer mouth off ta every'un, now…"

I hopped up off of the truck bed and threw my hands in the air, bringing them back down in fists as a sign of victory. "Yes! Merle Dixon cares about me!" I made sure I yelled quietly.

He blushed and looked away with a scowl. "Ya wanna hear how I got here er what?"

I fell silent and sat back down. "Anyway, I walked around through the woods a bunch, thinkin' maybe I would run back into some'un I knew. Eventually I found a high school. I thought there might be some food er supplies er somethin' inside, so I went in, but there were just walkers. They cut me off through most o' the school, so I thought I was good as dead. But I got out somehow and ended up runnin' into the house y'all was in. That's where you come in."

I took a deep breath. "Its hard to believe you went through so much stuff and came back with hardly a scratch on you."

He nodded. "Its kinda hard fer me ta believe."

I knew the feeling; I was surprised I had survived on my own out in the forest when I was lost and I had both of my hands. I had thought I was going to die. But I made it back and I wouldn't ever take human companionship for granted again. Those silent days were enough to drive me to madness.

"Well, its good to have you back, Merle. No matter what anyone else says."

He nodded and stood, returning to glaring across camp at Rick and T-dog as he walked back to his spot by the RV.

* * *

><p><strong>The return of Merle and the not-so-dramatic reveal of his story! Hope you guys like it. Sorry my updates haven't been coming very frequently, I've been swamped with homework lately. Remember to review! :)<strong>


	20. Seventeen Forever

DARYL'S POV:

Sure I was glad to have my brother back with us, but I wasn't sure what he was going to think about all of these emotions and relationships running high in our camp.

There were some other issues with feelings and whatnot that I could definitely sense between Andrea and Shane, Shane and Lori, Shane and Rick (though those were mainly anger), and Rick and Lori. Dale, T-dog, and Carol seemed to be the only ones who didn't have anything emotionally crazy going on, though Dale was having hell trying to reign in Andrea's feelings for Shane. Dale knew that Shane had gone off the deep end and was trying to protect her, but she didn't want his help.

These were the kind of things you noticed when you had nothing to do but sit and watch your companions, trying to ignore the incessant questions spewing from your girlfriend's mouth and trying even harder to keep your eyes away from a 17 year old you knew you couldn't have.

"Like a goddamn soap opera," I muttered, walking away from Emily for what must've been the millionth time that morning.

Merle was looking around the camp, obviously picking up on all of the emotional turmoil going around. He didn't know about me and Emily or even Kaiya and Miguel, yet (surprising since both had been hanging all over us since we got here). I wondered idly who would be the one to break the news to Merle about the tense relationships Kaiya and I had going on with our two newbies.

I stopped close to my tent and Emily grew tired of my silence, stomping away huffily. I made the mistake of turning my head the slightest fraction. I now had a perfect view of Kaiya.

She was wearing those damn Daisy Dukes that set my stomach on fire and a black tank top with lace at the top and spaghetti straps. Over the tank top, she wore a red plaid button-up. She tied the bottoms of the shirt around her midsection, showing off just how much of a workout the apocalypse gave you.

Her hair was perfectly straight and not messed up, though she had just woken up. She had already pulled her shoes on and was flipping her hair over in front of her, bending over to pull on a folded up bandana she tied it under her hair and flipped back up. She flattened her hair a bit and pulled the bandana down a bit.

I sighed and looked away.

Someone clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Still yearnin' fer baby doll, eh?"

"What the fuck're ya talkin' 'bout, Merle?" I asked with a scowl.

"I seen the way ya been lookin' at her. Its dif'ernt though…"

I sighed agitatedly. "Merle, what the hell are ya talkin' about?"

He shook his head with a shrug and frowned as though he was trying to figure something out. "It aint like I ever seen ya look at a girl before. It aint like when ya used to look at them girlies in the bar. Its dif'ernt."

I shifted uncomfortably. "No it aint."

He turned to me with a grin. "Yeah it is. I just dunno what it is, though. Its like ya just seen the sun er somethin'." His eyes widened in realization as he lifted a finger to point at me. "Ya-"

I slapped a hand over his mouth. He was in too much shock to do anything about my restraining him. I tugged him behind the tent and whispered, "Shut yer fuckin' mouth." I let go of his mouth.

"Ya love her, dontcha?" He sounded almost happy.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes and then back down at my feet. I nodded.

He chuckled. "My baby brother's in love with a 16 year old… Oh, this is too good." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"She's 17," I muttered meekly, as if that one year he had missed was enough to make my feelings for her anything but wrong.

He waved a hand like it made no difference. Which it probably didn't. Inner sigh…

"So why dontcha do anythin'? She been lookin' atcha too. Aint like she's gonna say no," Merle continued.

I glanced at him. So this is where he finds out. I took a deep breath and exhaled it on the name, "Emily."

Merle glanced sharply at me. "The fat bitch?"

I nodded.

"Well what about her? I seen her followin' ya 'round, but what's she matter?"

I closed my eyes briefly and then looked up at him.

His face smoothed out. "Yer with her aintcha?"

I nodded.

Merle groaned. "I thought I taughtcha better than that. When did my baby brother become a chubby chaser?"

I scowled.

"Aint like it matters anyhow, just dump the fat bitch and hook up with baby doll," Merle continued, seeming to bounce back effortlessly.

I shook my head. Never thought I'd be taking relationship advice from Merle in the middle of an apocalypse. "She's with Miguel."

Merle sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "The little spic boy? I missed an awful lot, huh?"

I nodded again, my eyes still stuck on the spot just in front of my feet.

Merle sighed agitatedly and walked away grumbling about stupid people.

I started to walk away when I heard something. It was Kaiya's voice, but I had never heard it like this. I followed its direction around the back of a couple tents and found her sitting on the ground behind her tent.

She had her eyes closed and was singing. I tried to stay far enough away so she wouldn't discover my eavesdropping but stay within earshot.

"You are young and so am I. And this is wrong but who am I to judge? You feel like heaven when we touch. I guess for me this is enough. We're one mistake from being together. But let's not ask why its not right. You wont be seventeen forever. And we can get away with this tonight."

"Princessa?" Miguel's voice called from the other side of the tent.

She sighed and opened her eyes, looking down at the ground under her. "Just a minute!" she called back.

I squished myself up against the back of the tent I was standing behind, hoping she wouldn't see me as she stood up and walked around the side of her tent. When I was sure she was gone, I sighed and went back to where I had been cleaning my arrows before Emily annoyed me away from it.

* * *

><p><strong>Holy cow poo! 101 reviews! :D You guys are amazing! I love every single one of you! :) Thank you soo much! <strong>


	21. Severed

KAIYA'S POV:

We all gathered around as Shane and Rick stood in the center of the tents. Rick held a hand up, signaling for silence. He looked pale and thin and tired. Weak. He needed sleep. He needed to stop trying to protect so many people all at once. He needed a vacation. Hell, we all did.

When everything went silent, Rick cleared his throat and spoke in a strained voice. "We're going to be heading for Fort Benning."

We all knew what risks we were taking in making the trip to Fort Benning; it was at least a hundred miles away, maybe more, right now. And in that long stretch, we were unsure if we would be able to stop for supplies, sleep, or gas. If we couldn't, we were totally screwed. If we could, we would eventually make it there, after a long journey. And there was still no telling if the military base there was even operational still or not.

Everyone was thinking the same thing as me, so they all began to murmur skeptically.

Rick sighed and said, "We cant just stay here, and where else do we have to go?"

A few people accepted that this was our best bet and fell silent.

I felt Miguel grab my hand and grip it firmly. I kept my eyes trained on Rick, unwilling to meet Daryl's glare. His head had snapped up as soon as Miguel's skin had made contact with mine as though he had sensed the connection.

"Its settled then," Rick continued, drawing Carl closer to him. "We leave in an hour." He turned around and walked to Lori.

I glanced down at Carl and frowned.

That poor kid had gone through so much. I supposed we all had, but that little boy had gone through so much more. Not long ago he had been shot in a hunting accident. He was healing remarkably well and even now seemed good as new… but every now and then, if he twisted the wrong way or stumbled into an awkward position, I could see the pain that flashed through his features.

I would stand up to go to him and make sure he was okay, but then Sophia looked over at him. He sucked it up like Merle would have and grinned cockily at her, straightening to his full height and sauntering forward until he was out of the girl's view and could afford to pull a face.

I frowned but was somehow able to laugh around it at this. He was trying to be tough for her. I remembered clearly when I had made it back to my group after being lost and had listened to Carl tell me all about his shot. "Do you - uh… Do you think Sophia thinks I'm brave for it?" he had asked as he laid in the bed Herschel had loaned him.

I shook off the memories of the young boy's pain and turned around to help Glenn with packing up our tent.

I was forced to shoo Miguel away as I worked, annoyed with his overly helpful presence. I loved the kid in a way, but not the way he wanted and everyone thought I did. He made me laugh with his stories, he was a very attractive kid, and he sincerely took an interest in my interests. But he was overdoing it and… to be honest, I couldn't stand the thought of loving someone if it wasn't Daryl.

I glared at him from across camp even though I knew he wasn't looking. Stupid hillbilly making me fall in love!

"What are you doing?" Glenn asked bewildered, folding up the tent in his hands.

I smoothed out the lines between my brows and turned to face him. "Just being angry at nature."

He shrugged and muttered, "Looked more like Daryl but whatever…"

I sighed as he walked away, going to chuck the tent in the back of my truck.

"Hey there, chicka," Miguel said, sliding his hand into my own as he stood beside me.

I looked over at him smiling at me and couldn't help but smile back. He was an awfully charismatic kid. And he finally seemed to be breaking himself of the habit to call me "princessa."

"Hey," I said, my hand going limp. I couldn't bring myself to actually hold his hand and he didn't seem to notice; he was too caught up in yammering at me a thousand words a minutes.

I could feel Daryl glaring at Miguel from across camp. I turned my head and looked over at him. Emily walked over and he did something that surprised me. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, looking down at her pressed against his chest. It seemed his sudden tenderness surprised her, too, as her eyes widened.

I bit back a snarl and made sure Daryl was looking at me again when I pushed myself against Miguel's chest, resting my cheek over his heart and using a hand to grab at the fabric in front of my eyes. He chuckled and squeezed my hand, lifting his other arm to wrap it around my shoulders and resting his chin on my head.

I glanced over and saw a vein in Daryl's temple jump out as his jaw clenched. He grabbed Emily by the shoulders and bent down to her, kissing her without getting as into the embrace as she was.

I felt my heart completely sever. It had been hanging together like a broken door on a hinge for a while now. Ever since Daryl said he didn't want me back at the CDC all that time ago. He had stomped all over my heart and left it bruised and scarred, but this action made it fall completely apart.

I felt tears pricking at the edge of my vision and willed myself not to cry on Miguel so he wouldn't ask what was wrong. I pulled gently out of the embrace and turned away. "I'll be right back," I muttered, going over to the other side of my truck.

I hoped I wasn't being too obvious when I lifted a finger to wipe away the single tear that slipped through my willpower's gate. How much can one person go through before they completely break?

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys like it! Remember to review, i do love reading them! :) <strong>


	22. Same Old Same Old

KAIYA'S POV:

"Lets go, time to head out," Shane called out loudly.

I rubbed angrily at the spot under my eye and stood.

Merle passed by me and did a double-take when he saw the redness of my eyes. Then he angrily zeroed in on Daryl. He looked back down at me as if asking if Daryl had been the one to make me cry.

I nodded and walked t my truck where Glenn was waiting. I started the truck up and ignored Glenn's questioning looks with a sigh. The truck made a bump and I glanced in the bed. Merle was standing there. _No Daryl_, I thought, turning back to the front.

Ah, there he was, getting huffy about riding with Shane. Eventually, Daryl got over his little hissy-fit and shoved himself into Shane's Jeep with a pissed off expression.

Then the caravan started off again, heading to Fort Benning with truck in the rear.

Merle stood in the bed against the cab with a gun in his hand. Every now and then, when we ran across a walker, he would shoot at it and chuckle delightedly. I could practically hear my companions rolling their eyes and sighing in annoyance from further ahead.

We drove until my hand was practically locked around the steering wheel. Rick stopped near what looked like a tourists camping site in a forest. He pulled us over in front of an old cabin surrounded by a fence. We all began to get out of our vehicles, stretching our cramped limbs.

"We'll stay here for a night or two and then head back off to Fort Benning. We're close enough now that we will be able to make it in one day. We want to stay here a for a while, though, to make sure we're all well-rested and up to it in case the base is overrun."

I nodded as Merle hopped down next to me. Rick sent a nod at him. Merle gave him a sneer. "How's it hangin', Griffith?"

Rick frowned and walked away.

"Check the house," Shane called.

I grabbed my rifle out of the bed of my truck and ran up to the men who made up what I called the Security Squad. It consisted of me, Daryl, Rick, and Shane.

We entered the house cautiously, glancing back sometimes to make sure no one had come closer to the house we were sneaking into. The cabin wasn't all too big, but it was small enough for us to be able to easily keep tabs on every room in the house and its occupants. We searched through the house quickly and expertly, finding nothing interesting whatsoever inside.

Things were becoming monotonous for me. I couldn't believe I was saying it, but I actually wanted a walker to come across and for someone (even if it was me) have a close brush with death. At least then something new would be happening!

I sighed, melancholy at having found nothing and dropped my gun.

"Were you hoping to find a walker?" Rick asked with a brow risen in question.

I shrugged. "Kind of."

He widened his eyes.

"Things are just so boring around camp lately! Its just the same old things every day!"

He frowned but nodded. "How about this? Tomorrow, you can go to search the town near by here." I perked up immediately. "Just don't tell Glenn. I know you can handle yourself on your own, but he's very protective and if he finds out I let you go alone, he would kill me."

I chuckled but nodded, not bothering to wonder what Rick's cover-up for my absence would be. Going into town would be perfect. I needed to get away from everyone in camp and be on my own doing something that would get my boredom levels out of the basement and we all needed supplies.

We beckoned everyone inside and then began to go through the routine for assigning sleeping arrangements and food.

Daryl was the first one finished with his dinner of fried squirrel bits cooked in the fireplace, having taken his last bite when everyone else was still halfway through their own. My stomach began to hurt as I remembered the incident earlier this morning. I set my plate to the side and stood, walking outside where Daryl had retreated.

The air outside was cool, something I was grateful for with the warmth of most Georgian afternoons lately.

I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets, looking up at the stars in the black sky as I leaned against the pillar at the front of the porch. The stars were bright, something that comforted me slightly, though I felt that something big was about to happen.

I gave another sigh and shook my head, looking down.

Daryl was walking over to the fence to the side of the long dirt driveway. The fence enclosed what looked like a pasture with hay bales set at random spaces. I guessed all of the animals had run once the walkers came to town. Smart animals.

I groaned internally and walked down the front porch steps, following after Daryl. He leaned against the top of the fence and rested all of his weight on one leg.

I stopped a few feet away, and though I knew he knew I was here, he didn't turn around. I admired him.

Why couldn't I just be happy with Miguel? He was better for me, healthier. But Daryl had effects on me that I couldn't just ignore. Miguel was sweet and kind and caring. Daryl was cold and sarcastic and downright mean.

But I loved it. I loved the way he riled me up and made me see red. I loved the way he barked insults at me, allowing me to fight back. I loved the way his blue eyes shined proudly when I got rightfully pissed. But most of all, I loved the way he held me.

It wasn't like anyone would have expected him to hold a woman. I had always pegged him for the all sex, no cuddle guy, but he had never once asked me to have sex with him or even hinted at it. So no, we hadn't done it. But he held me more tenderly than I had ever been held in my life, cradling me softly against his warm chest as he whispered in my ear.

Sometimes he whispered to me, calling me, "My baby", sometimes he just whispered my name over and over, and sometimes he would whisper that he loved me. Or at least he used to…

I sighed and walked up to the fence. Due to my ridiculously short height, I had to stand on the bottom horizontal wooden plank running across the wiring to reach his height. I folded my arms across the top of the fence and stared out into the empty pasture with him. Though I could feel him stealing small glances at me out of the corner of his eyes, we stayed silent and didn't move for quite a while.

Then he let out a soft sigh. "What do ya want?"

Not exactly the apology I was looking for, but I supposed that could work.

I was tired of not having him with me, not having him love me, not having him. I just wanted him back. So I answered truthfully. "You."

His head snapped up and he stared at the side of my face.

I kept on staring at the grass that bent in the wind ahead of me. "I miss you, Daryl," I murmured.

He sighed. "I don't see how ya can. After all the shit I been puttin' ya through."

I shook my head with a small smile. "Just because you're a total dick doesn't mean I don't love you. I always will." I turned to look him in the eyes. "No matter what."

He looked odd, frozen in confusion. Then he blinked and looked back out at the pasture with a sigh. "Kaiya," he said quietly.

"What?" I asked, inching closer to him. I was close enough to him that I could just barely feel the edge of his skin against my own, warmth radiating from it.

He looked down at me, the stars making his eyes sparkle a little bit more. "I love ya. Ya know I do. But we're wrong."

I flinched and turned back around. "Please, Daryl," I said in a whisper. Though I had said it quietly, I was sure even he could hear the depressing tears in the words. I kept looking down at the grass directly in front of me, but I could feel his stare on the side of my face.

He laid a hand lightly on my shoulder. When I did nothing, he gripped it the tiniest bit tighter, turning me to face him. I kept my face angled down so he wouldn't see the few tears that glistened on my lower lid. He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head. I looked around at everything but him. He trailed a finger slowly under my eye, collecting the saltwater there with a calloused fingertip.

I looked up at him. He had a small smirk, making the little mole on the corner of his mouth shift upward slightly and the edge of one of his bright blue eyes crinkle a bit. Without thinking, I lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. He leaned his face into it, keeping his eyes on mine. Then he leaned down a little bit, his eyes shifting to my mouth. I leaned in a little bit and could feel my body pressing against his.

Just before our mouths met, I thought _Maybe we can finally be together. _But, after about a half a minute of mouth-connection, a scream echoed through the land around us. I groaned and ran with Daryl back to the house. Oh great.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry if this was total crap; I wrote most of it at 4 in the morning. But anyway, for those of you who would like to know, I drew a picture on my dry erase board the other day... it was indeed the zombie-hunting jerk-face picture! And if i do say so myself... it is EPIC. So anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! :) <strong>


	23. Too Soon?

DARYL'S POV:

It had been Emily who screamed… But it wasn't about her.

When Kaiya and I entered, Rick and Shane were just finishing off a walker that was laying sprawled on the ground of the living room.

And Miguel was laying on his back on the ground, a hand wrapped around the side of his neck. Blood was pouring through his fingers and he was struggling to breathe.

Kaiya sucked in a sharp breath and dropped to her knees, her hands hovering a few inches above him as she looked at the bloody mess his neck was quickly turning into.

"Princessa," he gurgled. I could hear a few people whimper as they let a few tears loose.

Kaiya put a hand under his head and lifted him so that she could set his head on her thigh, probably not catching the pain that flashed across his face. "Shh, I'm here, Miguel," she murmured, moving his light brown hair back from his face.

With his head tilted at such an angle, I had a clear view of the marijuana leaf tattoo on the side of his neck. He lifted a hand and rubbed her cheek lightly. "Te quiero."

Kaiya was crying silently, but as she let out a small chuckle, I could hear the tears in her voice catch. "Fucking figures that I failed Spanish."

He gave a small grin around the pain, then he gave a pained looked and blood spilled over his bottom lip. He looked back up at Kaiya who was staring at him alarmed. "It means I love you."

She blinked a few times. "Oh Miguel," she cried, leaning down to him, holding him tighter against herself. I knew I shouldn't since the kid was dying and all, but I felt familiar jealousy snake its way up my spine. I could tell he whispered something to her, but I didn't know what. She pulled away, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Kill me," he grunted, trying to keep more blood from falling out of his mouth.

Kaiya shook her head. "Miguel, I cant."

He gripped her hand tightly. "You have to. I don't want to be like them. Please, Kaiya." I think that might have been the first time I heard him say her name.

She looked up at the rest of the campers who were gathered around with tears in their eyes. Shane hesitantly stepped forward, holding out his handgun. Kaiya took it with trembling fingers.

I was surprised at her. She could normally take a gun without a second thought, already closely acquainted with its uses and faults. But now she looked at it through her tears like it was a foreign object.

I gritted my teeth and watched as she ran a hand through his hair. "Goodbye Miguel," she said quietly, cocking the gun and putting it to his temple.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back as his breathing ceased. Then she pulled the trigger. A few people let their quiet sobs grow louder now that the conversation had stopped.

Kaiya stood quickly and dropped the gun to the floor without looking down. She brushed by me and out the front door. After a few minutes, I followed her out. She was standing about halfway to the fence we had been at before, her hand around her opposite elbow as her shoulders hunched and sobs wracked her body.

I frowned. I knew I shouldn't be, but I was jealous. Insanely so.

I walked over to her, surprised when she didn't hear me and turn around. "I thought you said you didn't love him," I said, my tone a bit harsher than I had meant to be.

She spun around, anger in her eyes. Something I noticed about her: when she was crying and sad, she tended to get pissed off quicker. It was easier for her to show her anger than her hurt.

"Just because I don't love him doesn't mean I wanted him to die, Daryl!" she said loudly.

I stayed silent, my anger suddenly flaring up. I clenched my jaw a few times.

She scoffed and ran both hands through her hair. "I fucking hate you. All you do is make things worse for me! Why cant you just stop? Just stop hurting me!" She was crying even harder now, but her voice was a little bit quieter. She had said only moments ago that she would always love me no matter what, but the conviction in her voice when she told me she hated me made my heart ache with realization that she might actually mean it.

When I stood in shocked silence, she gave another scoff and turned to go to her truck. "Tell Rick I went to town," she threw over her shoulder, hopping into her truck and taking off down the road before I could tell her to come back.

"Shit!" I cursed, running back inside. They had covered Miguel's (and the walker's) body with a sheet and were getting ready to dispose of them when I walked in. "Kaiya just took off."

Everyone began chattering in panicky voices.

I looked straight at Rick. "Said to tell you she's going to town."

Rick sighed and closed his eyes slowly.

"What does he mean?" Glenn asked, stepping forward.

Rick looked up at him with a flinch. "I told Kaiya earlier today she could go to look for supplies in the town close to here. She was getting bored of just sitting around doing the same routine things everyday and I figured she could use some time alone. She can handle herself, but I don't know how much more aggressive the walkers get after nightfall."

There was an almost audible sound of anxious disappointment going around to everyone… Except Emily.

* * *

><p><strong>Stupid Daryl's inappropriate timing! Hope you guys liked it! Review! :) Thanks for reading! <strong>


	24. Forced

**WARNING!: This chapter does contain rape! **

KAIYA'S POV:

I growled in frustration and wiped furiously at my eyes as I sped down the old back road. "Fucking Daryl," I snarled, sure my hair was all over the place.

I caught sight of a walker on the side of the road looking up in interest as my truck zoomed into sight. I gave a cruel smirk and turned the truck sharply, ramming right into it and sending it flying a couple yards away.

I put the truck in reverse and straightened back out as I rode into town. I turned my headlights off and slowed down when I got close to the city limits.

I grabbed my gun and fingered the fruit loop necklace Glenn had given me when I was four years old as I hopped out of the truck quietly.

The atmosphere outside the truck was considerably more menacing. I could hear from here the moans of surrounding walkers and the smell of rot burned my nostrils.

I made a face and plugged my nose with two fingers, crouching low to the ground and sneaking along the side of a building.

It turns out dancing was a very valuable skill for me to have learned. A walker I hadn't heard grabbed my arm from behind, gurgling blood in its open mouth as it tried to bite me. I yanked my arm forcefully from its grasp, causing it to stumble backwards a bit.

But it was ready for another lunge at me. Just as it was coming at me, I danced out of the way, half jumping and half spinning to the space behind a dumpster that was pushed up against the building.

I was also thankful for my slim figure, otherwise I would not have been able to fit back here. Emily would have been walker food by now. I chuckled silently at the thought and backed out of the opposite side, watching the walker struggle to reach me with its arms bent to get behind the dumpster.

I backed up into something. At first I had thought it was a wall, but when I smelled the disgusting home of maggots and heard the moan building in its chest, I knew it definitely was NOT a building.

"Oh fuck," I growled, not bothering to look behind me at the thing as I darted off down the street, drawing the attention of more walkers.

There was a moaning, stumbling horde behind me, but I kept running. At the end of the street was a line of buildings like a strip mall, with no spaces between the different offices. I had to choose: right or left. I decided on left before I got anywhere near it. But, just as I was running a few feet closer to it, a big truck pulled up in the way of my turn. I couldn't hear the walkers behind me, but I knew they were still there, many yards away. I stopped short when I came up to the truck.

Three large men got out, all obviously of Mexican descent. I was hoping to see a familiar face, perhaps one of the guys from the nursing home had gotten out. But they were all new faces to me.

"Help me," I gasped, looking over my shoulder at the walkers coming up behind me. I could hear them now.

The men smiled greasily. "Oh we'll help you, alright. Such a pretty little senorita," the one directly in front of me said, grabbing my arm.

"No!" I yelled, picking up on the insincerity of his words. "No! Let go of me!"

On of the guys beside us pulled out a gun and for a shocked moment, I thought he was going to shoot me, but he pointed straight ahead and began shooting at the faster walkers.

"Let me go!" I shouted, kicking out at him as he grabbed me with his other hand. I kicked and screamed and tried to slap, but he had a tight hold on me and easily threw me into the open back door of the truck, shutting it behind me as I lay on the seat with my head reeling and my heart pounding.

The truck started and we took off down the street. One of the men crawled into the back seat beside me, holding a roll of duct tape and a small length of rope. He grabbed my wrists, but I struggled. It was no use, though. He soon had my wrists bound tightly, the thick rope cutting into my skin and drawing blood whenever I moved the tiniest bit.

"Anything to say to me before I tape up that pretty mouth of yours, chicka?" the man asked with a grin, rubbing a finger along my bottom lip.

I clenched my jaw and spit into his face.

He opened his mouth in shock and gave a scoff and a slight chuckle. He wiped the spit away and then raised his hand, bringing it hard down onto the side of my face.

I cringed and held back a cry of pain.

He grabbed the side of my face, forcing it roughly back to the front so he could put the tape over my mouth. This time I didn't spit. I didn't even get the chance to. The truck stopped then.

I looked down with tears in my eyes. I had been abducted again. But this time, the Mexican men who took me weren't the nice men Guillermo and his associated turned out to be. I felt a tear spill over when I realized I no longer had my necklace on. The one thing in the world I had that could bring me comfort no matter what and I had probably dropped in the street.

"Come on," the guy said, grabbing my arm in a tight grip and pulling me out of the truck.

I tried not to pay too much attention to my surroundings outside of the building, because mainly I was looking at the building itself. For windows or holes in the wall that I could try and escape through. But they were all boarded up and besides, they put me in the janitor's closet of the old motel.

My bindings were taken off and replaced with a thick cloth (that was almost even harder to wriggle out of) that held me to an uncomfortable metal chair. My butt would be asleep by an hour. But all thoughts of my butt and its status of awakeness were chased out of my mind when I felt a hand tugging on my shorts.

I tried to scream "no!" around the tape, but only muffled words were coming out. They hadn't thought to bind my legs, so I kicked at the man trying to crawl on top of me. I landed one hard kick into his stomach.

"Stupid little bitch!" one of the other men snarled, kicking me even harder in the ribs.

I groaned and watched the stars dancing into my vision.

Then I felt it. Pain. But it was inside me. Something was shoving itself forcefully inside me as the man in front of me pried my thighs apart, leaving finger-shaped bruises along the inside of my legs.

I screamed and cried out, tears streaming down my face, but each time I made a noise, I was smacked, punched, of kicked. But that didn't stop me. By the time I had gotten three punches to the cheek, five smacks, and two kicks in the ribs (now broken), I blacked out.


	25. Onward

DARYL'S POV:

We figured she was just going to go to the town's edge and then run out of steam, turn around and come back, but sitting around waiting for her for an hour was making me anxious.

"Shouldn't we go look for her?" Glenn asked in a distressed voice.

Shane sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "We cant risk it. There are too many of us. We cant all go and if one of us goes and gets lost, it'll make us weaker. Don't worry, Glenn. I bet she'll be back any minute." I was surprised he had something to say that wasn't the least bit condescending toward the Asian boy. He was actually being nice for a change.

I ran a hand impatiently through my hair. "Fuck that," I said, careful not to be loud enough to let the kids in the other room hear me. "I'm goin' after her." I grabbed my crossbow and threw the door open before anyone could object.

"How're you gonna get there?" Rick asked, thinking himself safe in the fact that I had no mode of personal transportation.

I cocked a brow at him and climbed into Shane's Jeep. The keys were still in the ignition. I started the Jeep and peeled out into the street as Rick, Shane, and Glenn ran after me and the rest of the camp came out of the house to see what the commotion was about.

It was my fault she left in the first place, I would bring her back. I just hoped it wasn't too late and she was already a walker. Why had I been so stupid? Why had I said that? Why had I even _thought _that? Especially right after Miguel's death. Below the belt.

I pulled up next to the spot where I saw Kaiya's truck, a feeling of relief washing over me. But then I saw a couple walkers milling about close by and my heart dropped. I grabbed my crossbow and exited the Jeep, slinking close to the ground until I reached Kaiya's truck. I looked inside, but Kaiya was nowhere. Her other two guns were there, but her pistol was gone. She must've taken that one with her.

I moved closer to a building I saw ahead of the truck and waited for a nearby walker to stumble its way past. As I stood beside the dumpster by the building, I looked down. Kaiya's gun was laying in the space between the brick wall of the building and the back of the green dumpster. I gave an internal groan and picked it up, tucking it into the waistband of my pants.

The air smelled terrible and the sun was still hidden beyond the horizon, but navigating the streets was a lot easier than I had anticipated it to be. I was able to make my way around the outer edge of the town and came to a spot in front of a law firm situated between a frozen yogurt shop and a Shipley's outlet.

There were tire marks on the pavement in front of the law firm and I could see something colorful on the ground a few feet in front of the black skid marks. There were a bunch of walkers around there, but I had to make sure it wasn't what I feared it might be.

I dropped my crossbow behind the tree I was standing by and ran out into the street, drawing the attention of quite a few walkers. I grabbed the colorful thing without looking at it and ran back to the tree, walkers on my heels.

I ran back to the Jeep, my rib cage sore and a burning stitch in my side. I drove away from the walkers who beat on the outside of the Jeep, hightailing it back to the house where I could successfully determine that the item was indeed what I had thought it was… Kaiya's fruit loop necklace.

Oo0oO

When morning rolled around, Rick was ready to give us the news. "We're leaving," he said firmly.

None of us wanted to admit it to ourselves, but we all knew that Kaiya was gone. She had already been lost out there once and lived. The chances of her doing that a second time, especially if under the "care" of random street people, were very, very slim.

Even Glenn, though he still had tear stains on his face, gave a hesitantly depressed nod. I had cried last night, too. The little guy wasn't alone on that. Even Emily seemed a little worried about Kaiya, something all of us found surprising.

Merle was ready to go into town and shoot up every living person he saw until he found her, thankfully, however, he needed my help with only one hand to aid him and I wouldn't do that. It would probably just be putting Kaiya into more danger if she was even still alive.

I found it very hard to believe that she was dead, but I also found it hard to believe we would ever see her alive again. No, she was alive, I knew that much. I could feel it in my heart. The heart that had grown to be hers. But I wouldn't see her again. None of us would.

Shane drove Merle and I back to town to drive Kaiya's truck and we all formed the caravan again, missing one person we didn't think we would be able to efficiently function without.

A few hours before nightfall, we had reached Fort Benning.

I shut the truck off with a sigh.

It looked like people were here, but there were walkers around us. The guarded walls of the Fort looked like they were perfectly capable of holding off walkers. There were cameras mounted atop the posts of the walls. It was like a repeat of what happened at the CDC except without the uncertainty of human life on the inside. And without Kaiya.

We made it inside to be greeted by a man in an army suit holding a gun who introduced himself as Captain Hanson. I tried not to think about what Kaiya would've said in this instance and followed everyone around to where we would be staying.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry if this feels a little rushed. I'm not too fond of this chapter, probably because they just up and left Kaiya behind on the chance that she's not alive anymore. Anyway, i hope you guys liked it, please dont kill me for the suckishness of this chapter, and review! :)<strong>


	26. Memory Loss

KAIYA'S POV:

In all I spent three days with my captors, but I had no idea of time while I was locked away in their janitor closet. I took many beatings and every time one of the greasy, hard-breathing men climbed on top of me, I sat powerless to stop it and tried to imagine it was Daryl running his hands greedily over my body and panting into my ear.

But it was hard. I knew Daryl would never force me to do something the way these men were doing. I knew he would never dream of being so rough with me. I knew he would fill the silences with whispering my name instead of breathing into my ear.

With time, everything faded from my memory. I could no longer summon pictures of those I loved, or remember their names. I couldn't remember the sound of the voices I had grown to love. I couldn't even remember my name by the time I was freed.

I couldn't tell if it was morning or night on my third day with these unnamed men. All I knew was that I heard tons of scrambling and screams outside the door as one in front of me was scrambling to untie me. I had seen him before, but he was never one of the men who hurt me in multiple ways. "C'mon, there're walkers everywhere."

What were walkers? I didn't have time to ask him as he hauled me to my feet and tugged me out of the room.

I could see some of my abusers holding back other people who were soaked in blood and were bent at strange angles as they grunted, trying to get at the other men. Then one of the "walkers" reached one of the men, sinking its teeth into the side of his throat. He screamed, but the guy that saved me pulled me out of the building and into the blinding sunlight.

I squinted at the sun, breathing a sigh at the freedom. But I wasn't free yet. One of the "walkers" grabbed the man that led me out of the building and began to tear into him. I gave a weak scream and moved to the side, trying to dart out around it and into the street where I hoped I could find some help.

I looked frantically up and down the street until I finally saw another person standing at the stop sign. I waved my arms and yelled, "Hey! Hey, over here! Help! We need help!"

The person looked up and began to move toward me. But this one was moving just the way those "walkers" had and the rest of the street was deserted (something that I thought significant to couple with this thing's awkward movements).

"Oh man," I groaned, turning and running down the sidewalk. I ran for a while down the street until I was able to duck into an alley. Nothing came after me for a while, and eventually the screams stopped. When that happened, I snuck down the alleyways, assessing them as far more safe than the open streets.

I made my way out of the town and into another very small one.

The sun was beating down very hard on my slight frame. I shoved my hair out of my face for the thousandth time with an aggravated sigh. Sweat rolled down my forehead, stinging my eyes. I hadn't had food or water in almost two days.

So I did the only thing my body thought reasonable. I passed out in the middle of an open street.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry that was insanely short, I tried to make up for it by uploading two chapters at once. Hope you like it! Review! Thanks for reading! :)<strong>


	27. Found Again

DARYL'S POV:

It was our third day in Fort Benning and I was already tired of being cooped up.

Glenn was still white as a sheet and cringed any time anyone mentioned Kaiya. Everyone was convinced she was dead and I tried to tell myself she was, too. But it was hard to accept.

Merle got mad when anyone said she was and blamed everyone in the group for it if she was. "Y'all waited too long! If she is dead, it's 'cause y'all were too scared to go out and look fer the damn girl!"

Emily was being strange. She no longer hung around on me. I was thankful for that.

I felt guilt any time I thought about Kaiya as the last conversation I had with her played over and over inside my head like a tape. _"I fucking hate you. All you do is make things worse for me! Why cant you just stop? Just stop hurting me!" _Every night I had nightmares about her. But it was just me reliving the last words I heard her tell me.

I was tired of having to stay in the Fort. I wanted to be out doing something useful again. But I knew I was subconsciously hoping (perhaps foolishly) to find Kaiya while I was out. So I took her truck and requested leave of the Fort. It was granted, albeit hesitantly, and I drove down the streets quietly, looking for anything of use.

Then I saw it. A humanoid form stumbling along. I drove a little closer, surprised it hadn't looked up at the sound by now. Then it just fell over on the pavement. When I saw a couple walkers begin to move closer to it, I determined it was in fact a human and not a tired walker.

I ran forward and grabbed it by its arms, pulling it up onto my shoulder. Then I shot my gun at a few of the walkers that had gotten close. I ran back to the truck, weighed down very little by the person's insubstantial weight.

I took off for the Fort, only stopping to look over once the gate was reopened for me. As the gate closed behind me and people started to crowd around the truck to see what I had brought back, I looked over, shell-shocked.

It was Kaiya. Her long, dark hair was strewn across her pale, thin face and she looked weak, covered in bruises and blood.

I pushed aside all feelings and reached over, taking her in my arms as I climbed out of the truck.

"Is that- Is that Kaiya?" Glenn asked as he ran out of the main building, tears heavy in his voice.

I nodded, looking down at her. Her long ass hair hung down to almost my knees with her head leaned back and her arm was hanging out to the side.

"Get her inside," some of the soldiers commanded, running beside me as we rushed inside. The one doctor that was still alive here, Dr. Diaz, was being called for loudly.

Once inside, I ran down the hallway to the doctor's work room, laying her gently on the cot.

The doctor rushed in and began doing medical-type things to her, laying a hand gently over her forehead, pressing the stethoscope to her chest, checking her pulse at her wrist, and then scribbling his assessment down on his clipboard. "She's dehydrated and starved. We need an IV."

He threw open one of the medical supply closets to the side of the room as Glenn ran in and took her hand, kneeling beside her cot. The Doctor pulled out an IV and began hooking her up to it. "She should be fine for now. She'll probably wake up in about an hour. When she does she'll need food immediately. Whether she wants to eat it or not."

I gave a stiff nod and the doctor left. I walked out of the room after the doctor, sensing a tender situation with Glenn's teary eyes. I decided I may as well take care of that food problem. I was able to scare up a pate of macaroni, some stale chips, an apple, and a box of orange juice. I remembered her telling me she preferred it over apple juice by far back when we were at the quarry.

I took the plate into the room to see that Glenn had left. I set the plate down on the table beside her cot and her eyes slowly opened.

"Hey," I said quietly, walking around to the other side of her bed. "You awake?"

She looked up at me.

I half-grinned. I had never expected to see Kaiya ever again. And here she was, alive and back with me. Sure she was a little banged up, but she was alive.

She nodded. "Where am I?" she asked.

I never thought I would appreciate the sound of someone's voice so much in all my life. "Fort Benning."

She looked around herself. "Looks like a hospital to me."

I chuckled.

"Were you the one who saved me out there?" she asked, looking at me seriously.

I nodded.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that. You could have just left me there, but you didn't."

I crinkled my brows in confusion. "What do you mean? I couldn'ta just left ya there."

She laughed. "I can tell you're a really good guy."

She was confusing me more and more by the minute.

"I mean, you don't even know me and you saved my life."

My face smoothed out. At first I thought maybe she was holding a grudge against me for the last thing I said to her, but she sounded like she honestly believed that I didn't know her. And she didn't know me.

Glenn walked in, but I kept my eyes focused confusedly on Kaiya as her attention turned to her brother. "Kaiya! You're finally awake!" he said, rushing over to hug her.

But she didn't hug back. She just looked at him, confusion written across her features.

Glenn pulled back, floored by her lack of enthusiasm.

"Umm… Who are you? And why are you calling me Kaiya? Is that my name?" she asked innocently.

Glenn went expressionless for a moment before shaking his head and blinking a few times as he slipped into a confused expression to match the other two in the room. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me you don't know who I am?"

She shook her head.

Glenn pointed at me. "What about him?"

Kaiya looked at me and shook her head.

"Your own name?" he asked incredulously.

She shook her head again.

"Hey, Doc!" I called.

Dr. Diaz came in. "What is it?"

I sneered, standing up. "Ya may wanna check her head." Then I walked out.

Everyone was standing outside. "Is it really her?" Sophia asked. "Is she in there?" Lori asked. "What's going on?" Shane asked.

"She don't remember a goddamn thang."

Glenn came out and sighed tiredly. "

I'm gonna go to sleep," I grumbled, storming off as I avoided the eyes of Emily and Merle specifically.


	28. Shell

GLENN'S POV:

We waited anxiously outside the door while the doctor tried to figure out what happened to cause Kaiya to have no memory of any of us or even herself.

When the door finally opened and the doctor stepped out with a sigh, I had bitten my thumbnail down to a nub.

"What's going on?" Rick asked. "Is she okay?" Carl asked. "Why doesn't she remember?" I asked, standing from my chair.

The doctor looked around at all of us. "While she was missing, she was taken into the custody of three men who abused and raped her. The trauma from her experience caused her brain to try to block everything out so she wouldn't have to deal with it, but it blocked out the wrong things. She has developed amnesia as a side-effect of post-traumatic stress."

How doctors could deliver news like this to people so calmly would always baffle me.

I clenched my fists in anger. Someone raped and abused my little sister? I hoped they got what they deserved when she broke out. She had probably beaten them down to a pulp. Kaiya could have done that with one hand tied behind her back if she was mad enough. Chances are, she was.

"What can we do?" Andrea asked, taking a step forward.

The doctor gave a sigh. "I'm not completely sure if her particular case is going to be transient or permanent, but if we could do anything… you would need to take it very slowly and talk to her individually when you re-introduce yourselves. Too much information all at once this soon after waking up from exhaustion like that on top of her amnesia and current condition could have worse effects on her brain. Each of you, one at a time, go in and tell her about yourself. Things she might have known or might not have. If its something she's familiar with, it may begin to break down her amnesia. But don't give her too much to think about at once."

We all nodded and the doctor strode off down the hall.

"Glenn, you should go first," Andrea said, gesturing to the door.

I nodded and took a deep breath, walking through the door.

There were bruises and cuts all over Kaiya, and her side looked like it was bandaged. She looked up at me, a large purpling bruise around her left eye. "The doctor said I had three broken ribs. And amnesia." She sounded a little sad.

I pulled a chair up to her bedside and leaned on my knees, unsure how to start. "Kaiya. That's your name. You remember that, right?"

She frowned. "Only because you told me a few minutes ago. Its an awfully strange name."

I flinched. "You used to love your name." I waved a hand. "Anyway. I'm Glenn. I'm like your big brother."

She brightened. "I have a brother?"

I chuckled. "Well I'm not your biological brother. You don't have any biological siblings. But we've been best friends literally since you were born. Our dads were best friends. We've been together through everything."

She smiled. "That's sweet. You said Glenn, right?"

I frowned, but nodded.

Kaiya didn't seem to be herself. She was way too… peppy. She hadn't said a single cuss word. Normally she would've been cussing like three sailors and the captain, but she had been nothing but pleasant. This wasn't Kaiya. This was a shell of Kaiya.

"Well," I said awkwardly, standing up and beginning to leave. "I guess I'd better go."

She nodded and waved goodbye with a smile.

I closed the door behind me and looked into the eyes of the other campers (minus Daryl). "She is completely different."

"Can I go see her mom?" Sophia asked, looking up at Carol. "And me?" Carl asked Lori. They both looked at each other and nodded down at their children.

I opened the door for the two and hoped Kaiya wouldn't be too flooded with new info so soon. I also hoped I would get my real sister back.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys are liking it, review and let me know! Thanks for reading! :) <strong>


	29. ReIntroductions

KAIYA'S POV:

After the Asian boy, Glenn, came and talked to me, two adorable little kids came into the room, both smiling brightly at me. When the door closed behind them, they launched themselves onto the cot, flinging their arms around me and laughing.

"I knew you'd come back, Kaiya!" the little girl said with a giggle.

"Told you!" the boy said.

"Nuh uh! I told you!"

I chuckled. I felt at home with these two little kids. They made me feel appreciated. I must have been pretty important to them.

"Now, guys," I said, pulling them out of the hug. "Can you tell me your names?"

They frowned. "I almost forgot you cant remember," the boy said. "I'm Carl. You gave me some really good advice not too long ago," he said with a glance at the little girl and a blush.

The girl smiled at me, her dimples poking out and her short hair bobbing. "I'm Sophia. You saved my life a while back and got lost like you did a few days ago. But we found you just like Daryl did now!"

"Daryl? Is that the guy that was in here earlier? The one who saved me?"

The kids nodded.

This Daryl guy was kind of intimidating, with large muscles bulging from under his unsleeved, tan skin. He seemed like a jerk, but something about the way he had reacted to me at first made me think I meant something to him before. I mean, sure I must've meant something to everyone here if we were all surviving those walkers together, but to him I was… something more?

"Well, we aren't allowed to say much more. We cant tell you too much in a little time," the boy said, both hopping off of the cot and exiting the room.

A woman older than me with long, dark brown hair came in next. "Hey, Kaiya. I'm Lori."

I smiled up at her. She was kind of a comforting presence though I had no idea who she was.

"I cant really tell you much. We never really interacted much at camp. But, when we stayed at the CDC, I made fun of you for being claustrophobic even though you seemed to be practically fearless otherwise. You would always go out slinging guns with the boys, fighting even harder than some of them. You were a real little trooper. And I know Carl, he's my son, really looked up to you."

I chuckled. "I'm claustrophobic?"

She nodded with a grin. "Well, I'll send the next one in." She stood and left.

Another woman around the same age with blond hair came in. "Hey, kiddo," she said, giving me a small hug and being careful to avoid my injuries. "How're you holding up?"

I shrugged. "I'm a little weird-feeling. I have rediscover who I am. I don't even know how I should be reacting to everything. How I normally would I guess, but I don't remember how that is."

She nodded sympathetically. "Well, we're here to try and help you remember. I'm Andrea. My little sister Amy… she was one of your best friends before she was killed."

I flinched involuntarily, though I'm not completely sure why. "She died?" I asked in a small voice.

She nodded. "You and some of the men had gone into the city to find Daryl's brother, Merle, and when you were just coming back, there was a walker group that invaded camp." She had a dreamy, far away look, like she was watching the incident happening on the side of my cot. "You should have seen yourself. You jumped out of the bushes with the guys, holding a gun up. You shot at everything, hit everything, and you looked like a real warrior." She lifted a hand to brush a piece of hair out of my face. "We really thought you were gone this time, Kaiya."

I didn't know what to do, so I just sat and watched her.

"But you're here now, and that's what matters. I'll go send in Carol."

I nodded as she stood and walked out.

Another woman came in with very short hair and a sweet, motherly smile. "Kaiya," she said. "I'm Carol. Sophia's my daughter. You saved her life once. I never really did get to thank you for that. I felt so guilty when you got lost out there in the woods. Some people thought… Well, they thought you were dead. I didn't know what to think. But I really hoped you weren't. I would have felt so much worse if you had gotten killed out there."

I was really interested about this incident that people kept bringing up. "How long was I lost?"

She thought on it. "Almost a week. But we were looking for you the whole time. Daryl especially. In the end, you made your way back to the highway where we had left you a sign and some food."

That was the third time he had been mentioned to me and I hadn't even talked to him since earlier.

"Well, I'll leave you now."

The next person to come in was a man named Shane. He didn't have much to say. He mainly told me about all the worry I was causing with all of my disappearing acts. I mumbled an apology, but he chuckled and said he was only joking.

After him came an old man named Dale. He told me about myself. This piqued my interest. "How old am I?" I asked, intrigued by his description of me.

"I believe your seventeen now. You were sixteen when we met."

I nodded. I'm pretty young. "What was I like?"

He paused, thinking for a moment. "You were a fighter. And you had a pretty bad mouth. I'm sure if your mother had been around to hear half the words you said, she would have had a stroke," Dale laughed.

I frowned. "I don't sound too nice."

He shook his head. "No, you were! You were one of the nicest young women I had ever met. But you were tough. You fought with the men, you shot better than some of them, you cussed like a sailor, and you had a temper that rivaled Daryl's."

Again Daryl was mentioned. "Can I see Daryl?" I asked.

Dale got a strange look on his face. "I don't know that anyone can make Daryl do anything, but I'll try. And I have a feeling that, since its you, he'll come." He sent me a wink and left the room.

Why would Daryl come just because it was me? What was with this odd relationship I seemed to have with the hillbilly? I was really tired, but I guessed I would have to sit through the rest of the conversations with the campers.

"Hey, there, baby doll," came a drawling voice.

I looked to the door. There was a man who reminded me of Daryl. The same redneck demeanor. This man was intimidating as hell.

"Who are you?" I asked, conscious of the squeak in my voice.

"Merle Dixon. C'mon, baby doll. Don't tell me yer scared o' me."

I swallowed a bit of the saliva that had built up in my mouth.

"Oh come on!" he chuckled. "Kaiya Caston, scared of someone?"

I stayed quiet.

"You aint got no reason tuh be scared o' me. Hell, ya punched me once or twice and sent me sprawlin'. Ya can take care o' yerself, baby doll."

I still said nothing.

He turned back to the door. "Daryl'll be glad tuh know yer awake."

I felt my face go blank.

He smirked at me over his shoulder. "Ah, ya remember him, dontcha?"

I shook my head.

"Well, I'll tell Darlina yer awake."

Something happened the moment he uttered that name. I felt something, heard something, going on inside my head. _"Hey, Darlina! Git yer ass up here and quit flirtin' with the rug rat!" _Was that a memory? It was sure as hell Merle's voice and it wasn't coming from Merle right in front of me.

He gave a knowing smirk and left the room.

Next came a man named T-dog. He didn't have much to tell me either, except that I helped Daryl keep his temper in control. Which was odd. From what I had gathered about that man, he let no one make him do anything. He was a mean guy who didn't let anyone change that. Except me?

I gripped my head in confusion as T-dog left the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Ahh, she's making a small amount of progress already. Lets hope she remembers more pretty quickly, huh? Hope you liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	30. Rick's Words Of Wisdom

RICK'S POV:

It was almost my turn to go in and talk to Kaiya. I was planning on talking to her about her and Daryl's relationship, but I figured that would be something he would either choose to address or neglect to tell her about. So when T-dog exited and waved to the door, I stood with a sigh and entered hesitantly.

She was watching the window that was blocked by a large shrub that had long gone untrimmed. I cleared my throat awkwardly, sitting in the chair next to her cot. She was pretty beat up, sporting a black eye, a bandaged rib cage, and bruises across her cheeks and arms. She looked up at me. "You're Carl's dad, right?"

I gave a small smirk and nodded.

She nodded back. "I can tell. He looks a lot like you."

I let the smile fade from my face. She didn't remember anything. "I'm Rick."

She smiled at me. Something was off about her. She had yet to spout off a curse and she was oddly pleasant. Normally she was a very sarcastic, cynical young girl. But now she was being almost… nice.

"So what are you going to tell me about everything I forgot?" she asked, clasping her hands in her lap.

I thought about that. "You're awfully different, you know, Kaiya?"

She frowned. "How so?"

I shook my head. "You used to be so ready to fight and angry and foul-mouthed and angry, and now you're just… not."

Her frown deepened. "Dale told me something like that. I sound awful."

I shook my head. "You really weren't. You were great with handling the kids. You were very helpful, even though you griped about it like most teenagers would, with a few more cuss words than normal. And you saved people's lives."

She got a nervous look on her face and cast a glance at the corner of the room.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I'm really feeling the pressure. Of living up to this person I used to be. I was someone who saved lives but at the same time yelled profanities at anyone who provoked my anger."

I was surprised she was using such big words, but I kept my comment to myself, afraid of offending the new Kaiya.

"I guess you're right. No one in the group could've held the position you made for yourself in the camp. And I'm not even sure how you did it. You kept your cool under so much stress a teenager should never have been put under."

She sighed and frowned down at her sheets. "I wish I could talk to Daryl," she muttered.

My eyes widened in surprise. "You remember Daryl?"

She looked up and shook her head. "All I know about him is what he looks like, that he saved me, and that everyone around here has felt the need to mention him to me."

I nodded. "Well, I'll let him explain that."

She brightened the smallest bit.

I turned and left the room, feeling quite accomplished.

* * *

><p><strong>Ahh, keeping secrets, are we? Naughty, naughty... hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading and thank you sooo much for all the wonderful reviews! :)<strong>

**Special thank you to Jawsome whose reviews absolutely made my day! :D **


	31. No More Hiding

DARYL'S POV:

Everyone had already talked to Kaiya. Merle had even come by to ask me to talk to her. But while I was laying on my cot pretending to be asleep, I came to a decision.

If Kaiya didn't remember me, I was going to try and keep it that way. I wouldn't hurt her anymore. Not after everything she's been through. She didn't deserve it. And she was right; all I did was hurt her.

So I would stay away from her and try to keep her from remembering me and all the pain, tears, and hurt. If that meant keeping her from remembering all of the laughs, warmth, and love as well… it wasn't like she was getting hurt without those. I would keep those memories with me. The good ones. And I would remember them whenever I felt sad about not being able to even talk to my angel.

But Merle wasn't satisfied with my "I'm just not gonna talk to her," excuse. I didn't blame him; I wouldn't buy it either. "Ya cant hide from baby doll forever," he threatened as I walked away. I wasn't hiding from her, I was hiding memories of myself from her.

Oo0oO

I wasn't sure how she was doing as far as recovery, but only a day had passed with her back before everyone started hounding me to go in and talk to her. Though I had sworn not to, I was finding it harder and harder to say no. I figured there would be no harm in me simply going in, giving her a small account of her former self and then getting out. So when Glenn said, "Please man, don't keep her past from her," I gave a sigh and a hesitant nod.

Glenn walked beside me, thanking me over and over until we reached the door to her room.

I paused. "What do I even say?" I whispered more to myself than Glenn.

But he answered anyway. "Just tell her something about herself. Something that might make her remember."

I took a deep breath and nodded. Then I stepped inside the room.

She was laying back on the cot, toying with her fingers.

I leaned back against the door and she looked up.

"You're Daryl, right?" she asked innocently.

I nodded. "Ya really don't remember, huh?"

She shook her head with a frown. "Its really frustrating."

I gave her an odd look and walked around the side of her bed to lean against the window sill. "How ya been, kid?" I asked.

Her face did something weird. It went completely blank and for a minute it looked like she was staring straight through me. But then she blinked and shook her head. "Okay. Other than getting raped and beaten."

My hands clenched involuntarily. "I hope you got those fuckers good for what they did," I growled.

She seemed to actually… cower. That wasn't like Kaiya at all. She wasn't afraid of anything, let alone me. She loved me… Or at least I thought she did.

She shook her head. "Why would I? I'm no fighter."

I snorted. "Oh please… Don't go tellin' any o' the others, but ya could probably kick my ass in a minute. Hell, ya punched me out that day at the CDC."

She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "I did?"

I nodded, trying to quickly think up a way to avoid her reasoning. "I guess somethin' I said pissed ya off, 'cause ya came up behind me and threw one right at my face. I hit the floor purty quick."

She frowned down at her hands. "From what everyone has been telling me, I wasn't very nice."

I shook my head and moved forward to sit in the chair by her cot. "No. Ya weren't. But that's what made ya Kaiya. That's what made everyone love ya."

She glanced up at me, a blush dusting her cheeks. "Even you?"

I didn't want to lie to her and say no, but I didn't want to get her hurt again. Before I could think up a good answer, I remembered something.

I shoved my hand into my pocket and she watched, confused as I pulled out a green piece of yarn with different colored fruit loops strung on it. I held it out to her. "I think ya lost this."

She looked at it like it was something new. I sighed. I guess it kind of was.

"Its yer necklace. Ask Glenn about it. He's the one that gave it to ya."

She did nothing but sit and stare at it. I grabbed her hand and pulled it out. She froze up, seeming to go rigid at the touch. She got that distant far away look in her eyes again, but I ignored it and set the necklace in her hand, letting my own linger on hers for a moment longer than necessary. I knew I shouldn't have, but there was no going back on it now.

"Bye, Kaiya," I whispered, looking straight into her eyes and standing to leave the room. Just before I passed her cot, I set a hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair lightly. Then I left.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys are liking it! Thank you for all the reviews! I posted 60 chapters on the story that precedes this one and i got 140 reviews on that one. I'm only on chapter 31 and i already have over 140. Thank you guys so much! I could hug each one of you individually! :) <strong>


	32. Progress

KAIYA'S POV:

I was just sitting in my little room on my cot, fiddling with my fingers and wishing Daryl would come through that door and give me some answers when in came the sleeveless man himself.

"You're Daryl, right?" I asked, looking up at him as he leaned against the door.

He nodded with a frown. "Ya really don't remember, huh?"

Well I wasn't faking this so…

I shook my head and looked down at the blankets that covered my lower half. "Its really frustrating."

It was like there was a part of my brain I couldn't access. I still didn't know what the appropriate reaction to anything would be, the appropriate thing for me to say. I didn't know anything and it was like I was being thrown to the sharks by my own mind.

"How ya been, kid?" he asked, walking around the cot so he could sit himself against the window sill.

I felt something tickling the back of my mind. His voice, calling me kid… It reminded me of something, but it hurt if I thought too much on it, so I let it slip away.

"Okay. Other than getting raped and beaten."

I noticed his hands tense up. "I hope you got those fuckers good for what they did."

I was baffled both by his language and the ferocity of his anger. But perhaps more so at the insinuation that I would do something violent to those men. I mean sure, they deserved it, but I wasn't sure I would be capable of it if I was given the opportunity.

I shook my head. "Why would I? I'm no fighter."

He made a funny face of incredulity. "Oh please," he snorted. "Don't go tellin' any o' the others, but ya could probably kick my ass in a minute. Hell, ya punched me out that day at the CDC."

My eyes widened in surprise. Why on earth would I do a thing like that? "I did?" I asked, leaning my head to the side in confusion. What had he done to deserve that?

He nodded. "I guess somethin' I said pissed ya off, 'cause ya came up behind me and threw one right at my face. I hit the floor purty quick."

I looked back down at my hands with a frown. "From what everyone's been telling me, I wasn't very nice."

He shook his head and quickly moved forward, sitting in the chair beside my cot.

I looked up at him without moving my head up.

"No. Ya weren't. But that's what made ya Kaiya. That's what made everyone love ya."

I couldn't help it. I had to. This man was way too old for me and probably totally didn't feel the same, but he was hot and I was a girl! "Even you?" I asked, a blush creeping across my face.

He hesitated for a moment and I lost my hope. Well, there goes that procreation plan…

WOAH! Did I just think that? Maybe that's some of the old Kaiya coming back… Is that or is that not a good thing? I sounded bad but good at the same time. Do I like me? The old me, I mean. I don't even know. Ugh! Headache…

Daryl started to reach into his pocket. I leaned forward, watching with curiosity as he pulled out what looked like a bunch of multi-colored cereal bits on a pastel green piece of yarn.

He held it out to me. "I think ya lost this."

I just looked at it. I felt like it was supposed to mean something, but I couldn't mentally connect it to anything. There was a wall that I couldn't pass.

"Its yer necklace," he continued with a sigh. "Ask Glenn about it. He's the one that gave it to ya."

I kept still, just watching the necklace, waiting for something to fall into place, but nothing happened.

Daryl grabbed my wrist, his hands warm and calloused.

At the touch, my body went stiff and I could see, as if watching a movie, a glimpse of Daryl just in front of me, a smile on his face so close to mine. I could feel, as though it were happening right here, his warm hands on either of my arms. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I knew I was liking it.

Then I woke up. If that's the right way to put that.

I looked down at him.

He was just putting the necklace into my palm. He let his hand rest over the pile of yarn and cereal in my hand for just a moment before pulling his hand away and standing. He put a hand on the top of my head and ruffled my hair, making another of the movie clip-like memories flash through my mind.

"_Hey, shrimp," Daryl greeted, walking past me to his truck and ruffling my hair on his way. _

"_Hey!" I pouted, crossing my arms childishly. _

_He chuckled at me. _

I blinked and turned to see Daryl walking out of the door. "Bye, Kaiya," he whispered before the door shut all the way.

What the heck was happening inside my head? What had happened between Daryl and I that every camper felt the need to at least mention him to me? Or that I was having more progress with retaining my memory when he was talking to me? What was going on?

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys are liking it! Thanks for reading! Review! :) <strong>


	33. Back On Her Feet

KAIYA'S POV:

The next few days were fairly uneventful and I made absolutely no progress with regaining my memory. Glenn stayed in my room with me for most of the days. The doctor would come in every so often to check on my bruises, cuts, and ribs. Soon enough, I was able to stand from my bed and move around. "By tomorrow, you should be able to get out there and out of this room."

I nodded and gave the doctor a smile as he left.

"You hear that, Kaiya? You'll be back to normal in no time," Glenn said excitedly.

I frowned. "If I can ever remember."

The smile slowly slid from his face.

The next day, I woke up and Glenn was waiting there with a bag for me. "This is all of your stuff. Now that you can get up and move around again and stuff, you can finally change into something that doesn't reek of sweat blood and body odor."

I grimaced and took the bag from him, stumbling my way into the bathroom. My ribs still hurt pretty bad when I moved around, but it was far better than it had been before. I had to be extremely careful when I pulled the shirt over my head.

I looked down at myself. Cutoffs and a dark green tank top. You could see some of my bandaging through the shirt.

I riffled through the bag a little more, hoping to find a hair tie. Hopefully I was smart and had packed some in preparation for the hot Georgian sun. Sure enough, I found a few hair ties in the bottom along with a black bandana folded up into a long rectangle, ready to be tied around my forehead.

I shrugged. I must've worn this before, so it wouldn't be too weird for them to see me with it on. I bent over and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. Why hadn't I cut all this long hair? Then I tied the bandana just under the tie at the back of my head.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked a little like the Kaiya everyone was saying I had been. I looked tough with bloodstains still in the skin just under my cheekbone, bruises all around me, and a few broken ribs along with the scowl I gave the mirror.

I exited and Glenn looked up with an incredulous smile. "Its you."

I made a face. "Of course its me."

"No," he corrected. "I mean, you actually look like you. For a second I forgot-"

"Well, lets go out, shall we?" I asked, seeing that he looked a little sadder when he remembered that I couldn't.

He nodded and grabbed my arm, pulling it around his shoulders. He tried to hold onto me as best he could without grabbing onto my ribs as I limped along beside him, trying not to move the bandages around too much.

Everyone rushed up to me. I had never seen them all together at once. I didn't know why, but it was kind of strange to see how everyone acted around each other. Far differently than when it was just me and them, that was for sure. Daryl was nowhere to be seen so far.

Our people had set up tents around the inside of a warehouse-type place with people bustling about. It was spacious and led to the hallway where the patients' rooms were. There were large bay windows near the roof and as I looked around, it seemed more like an empty hangar than anything. Our tents were set up in an odd semi-circle completed by the wall. A large RV was in here, too.

Merle Dixon was sitting in a chair outside the tent I assumed was his.

Everyone was chattering excitedly around me, all staying a few feet away so no one accidentally knocked into me and hit my ribs. I laughed and smiled as they talked to me, telling me how happy they were to see me back on my feet.

Then something caught my eye over by the Dixon tent. I looked up.

Daryl was emerging from the tent, a bundle of arrows in his hand. He looked up at me as soon as he straightened up. He was expressionless, but there was something I was supposed to be getting from his silent glare. I just didn't know what it was. His eyes traveled down to my ribcage, the bandages over them poking out through the tank top. He scowled and held the arrows tighter as he turned away and stormed over to the RV.

I turned back to the others who hadn't stopped talking and nodded, smiling like I hadn't stopped listening for a second.

But even after I turned back to the group, I couldn't focus on what was being said; I was too caught up in visions of bright blue eyes. But they were at angles and distances I wasn't familiar with. These were the old Kaiya's memories.

* * *

><p><strong>More and more of her memory is coming back! Hope you guys are liking it. Thanks for reading. Review! :)<strong>


	34. Intrusion

DARYL'S POV:

It was so weird to see Kaiya walking around as she hung off of Glenn's shoulders. To see her so helpless. At least we were in Fort Benning while she needed all this assistance; we had hardly any worries of imminent walker threats, so Glenn could focus on helping Kaiya as a priority.

After a few days, she claimed she didn't want Glenn to help her anymore. She wanted to do this on her own and be dependant. I was scared but hopeful that the real Kaiya was starting to come out.

I watched over her while Glenn and most of the other campers were talking to some of the guards about some kind of security thing or another. The only people still around the camp were me, Merle, the two kids, Kaiya, and Carol. But the kids and Carol were in the RV. Merle was passed out.

Kaiya was trying to make her way around camp on her own and I sat outside my tent. I had mostly ignored Kaiya after talking to her in the patients' room, sending her cold glares anytime I had her attention. She frowned and looked away with a disappointed look.

She took another step, wincing in pain as she grabbed at her ribs, trying to hold them still as she moved. She started coming around the side of the RV, closer to where I was sitting. She stepped on her foot the wrong way, twisting it sideways. "Fuck!" she squealed, falling forward with a pained groan.

I jumped up and ran over, catching her before she smashed her face on the hard floor. I grabbed her shoulders and she groaned again, loudly. I pulled her closer to me, trying to muffle her noises of pain with my chest. "Shh," I whispered, holding her tighter when her groans turned to tears.

When she had cussed earlier, I had almost forgotten that she couldn't remember anything and that she was normal Kaiya again, but I knew Kaiya would never let anyone see her cry over physical pain unless she was impaled, shot, or being eaten. Even then, she would have held out till the last possible second and only let the tears slide when she couldn't hold them in any longer. I didn't care, though.

"Shh, quiet, its okay," I whispered, moving her hair back. "Do ya want me to take ya to the doctor?"

She nodded.

"Can I pick ya up?"

She shrugged.

I sighed. Guess we'll have to test it first. I put one arm behind her neck and the other behind her knees, lifting her up. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and grunted, but let no other noise out.

I was right; Kaiya was coming back out.

She gripped my shirt sleeve tightly as I carried her as gently as I could back to the room.

When I had set her in the cot, I ran up the hall to get the doctor, but he wasn't there. "Doc?" I asked, looking around at the state of chaos his normally clean office was in. Papers were everywhere, his white coffee mug was busted, and there was a streak of blood on the ground.

_They cant have gotten in here, can they? _I thought to myself, staring at the closet the smears led to with suspicion. When I got close enough, I could hear something grunting and clawing at the door, making sick gurgling noises. I knew better than to open that door.

"Shit," I whispered harshly, causing the walker in the closet to go nuts. I looked through the doctor's desk, searching for any kind of medical supplies. I found tons of pill bottles. I grabbed them all and ran past Kaiya's room with an armful, tossing them all into my bag. I entered my tent and woke Merle up.

"God damnit, Merle, wake the fuck up!" I whispered harshly, shaking his shoulder roughly.

He snorted loudly and opened his eyes. "The fuck ya want?" he asked.

"Walkers," I said, turning and leaving.

He nodded and went to the RV to tell Carol and the kids.

I ran back to Kaiya. She was still laying on the cot, writhing in pain. "Kaiya, I'm sorry," I said quietly.

She looked up at me, her jaw clenched and her eyes desperate. "What?" she grunted out through her teeth.

"We gotta go. The walkers, they got in. We need to go."

She bit her lip and a shiver of pure pain pulsed through her. "But my ribs-"

"Kaiya, ya either ignore yer ribs for a few minutes until we get out o' here, er ya git eaten."

She made a few more faces of pain before nodding.

I grabbed her up again and brought her out to where all the vehicles were. I slid her into the backseat of her truck, letting her lay back in the seat.

Then I ran back to her room, searching through the cabinets and drawers for any kind of medical supplies. I ended up with an assload of Band-Aids, some clear liquid I thought might come in handy, and a bunch of tan wrappings. I tossed those into the floorboard of Kaiya's backseat and looked up in time to see the rest of camp running toward us.

"Walkers are invading!" Rick yelled.

I nodded. "I know, one of 'em got to Doc. Locked himself in the closet 'fore he turned."

Everyone began loading up their stuff as quickly as they could. Just as everyone was climbing into their vehicles, gunfire echoed around us. I looked to the mouth of the old hangar.

Men in camouflage suits were firing guns at the horde of walkers coming in after them. There were only a few men left fighting off an entire army of those things. We hung out of the windows of our cars, yelling for them to quit firing and just run for us, but none listened. Everyone fell.

When the last one was torn into, we all started our engines up and drove out, the RV leading the way and me in the very back. We went over a few bumps before we got out of the gate and every time one of the bumps jolted the truck, Kaiya let out a quiet scream.

She was getting tougher by the minute, giving me a little hope that not only would she make it, she would get back to normal soon.

"Kaiya, listen to me, alright?" I said, looking behind me at her before looking back at the road ahead. "Its gonna be alright. Ya hear me? Yer gonna make it. Its gonna be alright. I promise."

She gave one last sharp inhale of breath before her eyes closed and she went limp.

"Kaiya?" I asked, swerving around a walker body that someone had hit. "Kaiya!" I said a little louder.

But she didn't wake up.

* * *

><p><strong>OOOOH! :O Hope you guys liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	35. Remember This

KAIYA'S POV:

I stumbled my way around the camp, trying to exercise so maybe my ribs would get a little better. But it was still hurting pretty bad. I had told Glenn to let me make my way around at least for today and if I did good then to let me until I got better.

I could feel Daryl's stare following me around camp as I stepped and winced in a pattern.

I made my way closer to where he was sitting, but when I put my foot down again, I landed on it sideways. "Fuck!" I said in a squeak. I was surprised at myself. It felt like someone else had said that.

I started to pitch forward. I knew my ribs would probably crack all over again if they hadn't already. But I never hit the ground. Instead, I was pulled into a pair of arms. Daryl. I let out a groan, my ribs stinging fiercely.

"Shhh," Daryl whispered, holding me a little tighter. But it didn't hurt my ribs, it was actually… comforting. Daryl? Comforting? Wow, I really need to see a shrink.

I felt wetness slide down my face, soaking the front of Daryl's shirt.

"Shh, quiet, its okay," he whispered, pushing my hair back from my face. This different side of Daryl was weird. He was being gentle, and he seemed to actually _care_. "Do ya want me to take ya to the doctor?"

I nodded.

"Can I pick ya up?" he asked.

I shrugged. Moving around would probably hurt my ribs, but I had to get to the doctor somehow.

He sighed and started to pick me up bridal style.

My ribs stung again, but I didn't scream or cry or groan this time. I felt an unfamiliar unwillingness to let Daryl think I was a wuss. I clutched a bit of his shirt tightly in my hand, squeezed my eyes shut, and let out a grunt from between my teeth.

He walked me to my room and laid me gently on the cot, then he raced out of the room to go and get the doctor from his office. I knew if I thought about the pain in my ribs for too long, I would wind up crying again like a big baby.

So I distracted myself with thoughts of Daryl. He was really attractive. He had blue eyes that seemed to stare right through me and gave me the urge to let my knees collapse. And hair that was starting to get kind of long, hanging just below his eyes when he didn't push it back. And who could forget that adorable little mole on the corner of his mouth? His voice made me want to fall into his arms and just let him hold me (among other things), and his drawl only added to that.

I squeezed my eyes closed and thought about how much I loved it when he said my name. Just when I thought that, Daryl walked back in and the first word out of his mouth was my name. "Kaiya, I'm sorry."

I looked over at him, still trying to ignore the pain. "What?" I managed to get out.

"We gotta go. The walkers, they got in. We need to go."

I looked up at him, terror in my eyes for the pain I knew would come with my being transported. "But my ribs-"

"Kaiya, ya either ignore yer ribs for a few minutes until we git outta here, er ya git eaten."

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, giving him a nod.

He stepped forward and lifted me into his arms, carrying me down the hall back to the big black truck he was always hanging around. He laid me gently in the backseat and then ran off again.

I tried to keep my breathing regular as I waited for him to come back.

It was only a few minutes before he climbed back into the truck, still talking to Rick. "-in the closet 'fore he turned."

I heard everyone scrambling about, trying to quickly assemble their things and get them loaded up before the walkers got to us.

Then the sound of tons of moans and only a few peoples' worth of gunfire entered the hangar. Everyone in our camp began yelling to them to stop shooting and run for us. But I guess none of them listened; the gunfire stopped, dissolving into the screams of a man and the moans of the walkers that only grew without the loudness of gun power.

Daryl climbed back into the truck and started it up, driving after the rest of our camp. We hit a few bumps, jolting my ribs around. I let a small scream escape, but nothing too loud.

Daryl kept giving me worried glances whenever I did. "Kaiya, listen to me, alright?" he asked, looking back at me. His face was getting blurry. I struggled to concentrate, but the pain in my ribs was getting in the way of my focus. "Its gonna be alright. Ya hear me? Yer gonna make it. Its gonna be alright. I promise."

At these words, I could feel a bit of my memory starting to come back again. But I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I closed them and decided I would just take a small nap and deal with my memories when I woke up.

But the memories followed me into my dream.

Oo0oO

_Daryl frowned and looked at the ground, seeming like he didn't know what to do. Or knew what to do but wasn't sure he wanted to. Then, before I knew what was happening, he was right in front of me, only a few inches away. His bright blue eyes staring into mine as if gauging my reaction. I gazed back steadily. _

_He reached up and did something I never thought Daryl Dixon would do in all his life. He hugged me. _

_It took a second for the shock to get through and I lifted my arms and put them on his back. The hug was over way too fast. _

"_Don't tell anyone," he said, walking away. _

_I rushed to catch up with him; I really didn't wanna get left alone in the woods right now. _

"_Hey Daryl," I called. _

_He turned around, but I kept walking. _

"_You're still a jackass." _

_He smirked at me as I walked past him and we made our way back to camp._

Oo0oO

I woke up to the sound of Daryl saying my name over and over. "Kaiya. Kaiya! C'mon, wake up, Kaiya."

I groaned and sighed, "5 more minutes," rolling over onto my side. But I rolled onto my ribs. I winced and sucked in a sharp breath, sitting up quickly.

"C'mere," Daryl said, climbing into the backseat with me. He reached down into the floorboard and grabbed a bag of rolls of brown wrappings. "Ya want me to re-bandage yer ribs?"

I sighed. Well, I wouldn't be able to do it myself. "You know what you're doing?" I asked, scooting over so he had more room.

He gave me a funny look. "'course I do. I've been in more bar fights than ya could count. Gotten way worse than this."

I grumbled, "Way to make me feel like a lightweight."

He chuckled. "Yer startin' to get back to you."

I looked around.

"Yer gonna need to take yer shirt off," he said quietly, sounding almost shy.

I felt my face heat up, but I nodded and tried to slip it off. But my ribs started to hurt me.

I flinched and Daryl grabbed the shirt. "Here, lemme help ya."

I tried to ignore the way I shivered when his warm hands barely grazed the skin of my stomach when he lifted the shirt. I caught him smirking at it, though. I grimaced, sure my face was on fire.

"Oh c'mon, Kaiya," he said, starting to take off my old bandage. "Its aint like this is the first time I seen ya shirtless."

I spun quickly. "What?" The quick movement made pain lance straight through my ribs. I bent halfway over, my forehead touching Daryl's chest.

He chuckled and grabbed my shoulders, helping to get me back upright.

"Please," I said. "Tell me you're joking."

He grinned and shook his head no.

"Why was I so stupid?" I asked, face palming.

He reached around me, grabbing the used bandages and unwrapping them from my midsection. "Well, the first two times-"

"FIRST TWO TIMES? It was more than once?" I asked, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Are ya gonna let me finish?"

I sighed and nodded as he threw out the old bandage.

"Well, the first two times were my fault. I kinda walked in on ya tryin' to git dressed when we were at the quarry."

Oo0oO

_I searched through my bag for a brush and brushed out my hair then started looking through my bag for clean clothes. I pulled on a pair of jeans and took my T-shirt off, about to pull a green tank top over my head. _

_But, before I could even get it on, someone opened the tent flap and stuck their head in. "Kaiya, they- Oh fuck!" _

_It was Daryl. _

"_What the fuck? Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I yelled, trying to cover my exposed torso with the tank top. _

_He shielded his eyes and muttered, "How do ya knock on a fabric te- Never mind, the-uh… others, they sent me to get you." _

_Oo0oO_

_I started getting dressed. Once again, I had my shirt off when Daryl decided to drop by. "Kaiya? I- Oh fuck. Again?" _

Oo0oO

I blinked at him.

"Ya alright?" he asked softly.

I nodded, blinking to clear my vision. "I just-uh… Well, I'm not really sure what that was. I think I'm remembering."

He kept a blank face and started to open the new bandage.

"What about the other times?" I asked.

He chuckled down at the bandage roll. "There was only one other time besides the first two."

"So what happened that time?" I asked, trying to ignore my lack of a shirt.

He took a minute before answering. "You me and Glenn were drunk. Strip poker."

I shook my head, holding a hand to my face. "I was such an idiot."

Daryl chuckled, still looking down at the bandage. "Nah."

I looked up at him and he finally lifted his face. We were sitting awfully close, but I didn't mind so much.

"Lift yer arms a little," he said, beginning to wrap the bandage around me.

I did as he said and let him wrap both of his arms around my bare stomach so he could grab the roll around my side. I watched his face as he wrapped me up.

He paused with his arms around me and looked down at me. "What?" he whispered. His face was very close to mine and his arms were warm on my back and stomach.

"Just…thinking," I whispered back.

"'bout?"

"You," I answered honestly.

He blinked a few times at me before starting to lean in. I couldn't take it. I closed the distance quickly, not caring much to wait for him to take it slow. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him pull me onto his lap. He ran his fingers through my long hair, holding me to him gently.

Kissing him made images flash through my mind. I had done this before. A lot. I giggled into his mouth, making a small smirk appear against my mouth.

"What the fuck?" someone by the open door of the truck said.

I pulled back and looked out.

Glenn was standing there, a confused look on his face.

"Umm…" I said, my face redder than I was sure it had ever been in my life. My big brother had just caught me making out with a man twice my age with my shirt off. Awkward.

"Just rewrappin' her, short round," Daryl said, not turning around.

Glenn raised his eyebrows. "That looked like a lot more than rewrapping her!" I shushed him and he sighed, "Whatever. Used to it by now."

I made an incredulous face at Daryl and laughed with him. "So seriously," I said when our laughter had died down. He continued to wrap my ribs. "What is with us two?"

He knew what I meant. He sighed. "It's a really long story, but I guess if I made it short enough for ya to get…" he looked up at me from under his lashes. "I love ya."

I shivered at the husky way his voice said the words. My voice became hesitant, quiet, and shy. "And do I love you?"

The tiniest smile touched his lips. "Ya said ya did. But the last thing ya told me before ya ran off and got abducted was that ya hated me." He looked hurt.

I put a hand on the side of his face.

"_I fucking hate you. All you do is make things worse for me! Why cant you just stop? Just stop hurting me!" _

"Geez," I said quietly. "What did you do to make me say that?"

He sighed and clipped the bandage around me. "Yer all done." Then he stood and left.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew, long chapter... Hope you guys are enjoying this, thanks for reading. Review! :)<strong>


	36. Remembering Daddy

DARYL'S POV:

I had decided I was tired of keeping this from her, and had let her know a little about what we had been like with each other before. But I hadn't told her about what had made her mad enough at me to run away. If I could help it, she wouldn't have to remember that.

Shane's Jeep had run out of fuel, so we were parked on a small road in the middle of a few rows of trees. It seemed like it had gotten a little colder since the last time we were all out in the open like this.

"Its gettin' to be winter," Merle mumbled, walking over to me.

I nodded my head, giving him a simple, "Mmm" of agreement as I bent down and cocked my crossbow.

"Check the perimeter," Rick said as he passed by. Merle glared at him, whether from his old grudge or from his bossy attitude I couldn't be sure. I was surprised Merle had done nothing yet to try and kill Rick or T-dog for leaving him in Atlanta. But I knew if he hadn't already tried something, he was thinking up a plan.

I shouldered my crossbow and began to walk toward the trees. On the other side of the road, Glenn and Shane were going into the little forest.

"Hey! Can I come with you?" Kaiya asked, hobbling over to me.

I frowned. She really didn't need to be moving around so much with her ribs in the state they were in and it would probably be dangerous for her, but I was tired of telling her no. "Sure. But stay close."

She nodded and smiled, limping along behind me as we passed through the trees.

I looked around as a few pieces of wood crunched underfoot. Nothing in sight so far. I cast a quick glance back at Kaiya as I turned my head.

She was running her hands lightly along the bark of some of the trees she passed. She stopped with her hand flat on the tree and slumped over. I turned back to her, worrying that maybe this was putting too much strain on her ribs. Her eyes were closed and her shoulders tense, but she didn't seem to be in pain.

"Kaiya?" I asked.

Her eyes flew open. "I remember," she whispered, a tear spilling over her eyelid.

"What do ya remember?" I asked, hoping it wasn't anything too recent.

"My dad," she said, a sob shaking her shoulders. "He used to take me hunting out in the forest. And he always wore this god-awful hat," she said with a small chuckle. "I helped him work on cars. And that truck… The truck that you were driving. That was mine?"

I nodded.

"My dad gave it to me when I got my drivers license. I had helped him work on that truck since I was ten years old. I remember. And then he turned into one of them." Her eyes became desperate, staring at the tree bark under her palm. "He came out of the closet into the kitchen and Glenn started to kill him. But I made him let me. I killed my dad." This brought on a whole new round of tears.

"C'mon, Kaiya," I said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her to me. "Shhh, there could be walkers all 'round here." Like that was what I was worried about.

She sniffled a few times and then pulled back and nodded without looking at me, taking a few steps forward as she took up the lead.

We had a silent scout through the forest and came back without a scratch on us. But the same couldn't be said for Glenn.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow... That was really short. Sorry, guys, I know that's disappointing. But she's remembering whole chunks of people now! Hope you liked it anyway! Review! :)<strong>


	37. Hats and Raccoons

KAIYA'S POV:

I had to hold back a bout of raucous laughter when we returned to the caravan. Glenn had been shouting loudly, causing worry and panic. I had expected something way worse than what we found.

Glenn was rolling on the ground, a raccoon clawing and hissing at him. Daryl didn't bother to muffle his snickers.

Shane and Rick stepped forward, holding their arms up as if to hold of the other campers, keeping them away from the raccoon and Glenn. They began trying to tell Glenn over the noise of his chaotic screeches that he needed to calm down and they would get the crazed animal off of him. Shane used the butt of his rifle to nudge the raccoon away. When he got it successfully off of Glenn, Glenn scooted backwards, leaning up against the Cherokee, as Shane scared it away back into the woods where it had come from.

Everyone relaxed and grinned cockily at Glenn. It just WOULD be him that got attacked by a raccoon when it could've been something like a walker. He just had the funniest luck.

He scowled darkly at us. "Thanks a lot," he mumbled, struggling to stand up. There was a small set of claw marks on his forearm.

"Oh, Glenn, you're bleeding," I said, rushing over to him and grabbing his arm.

"Yeah, and you squeezing it isn't helping any," he said, his voice slightly strained.

I released my grip on his arm again. "Oh, sorry."

"Here," Daryl said, tossing me some stuff to clean out his scratches.

"Come here," I said, grabbing his other arm and tugging him to the side of the road as everyone began doing productive things. "So," I said slowly as I started to pour some alcohol onto the scratches, making Glenn bite his lip and scrunch his nose up.

"So?" he asked, looking around at the trees.

"I remember my dad."

His attention snapped right back to me. He narrowed his eyes at me. "How much?"

I kept my eyes trained on his arm. "Everything. Us working on the truck, going hunting… dying for the second time." I didn't have to look up to see him flinch.

"Well, I guess that's good, then, right?" he asked. "I mean, that you're remembering so much. The doctor said it wasn't good for you to get too overwhelmed with too much information at once, though. But maybe this is just the right pace."

I nodded my head in agreement, placing a bandage over Glenn's arm. "All done," I said, smiling up at Glenn.

He frowned for a moment before pulling me cautiously into his arms, holding me tight. I slowly wrapped my arms around him.

It felt like I hardly knew Glenn. I mean, I knew that I had known him for my whole life, but as far as I knew right then, I had never met him before I was rescued.

"I know you don't remember the advice you gave me a while back," he started, whispering quietly. "But I'm finding it harder and harder to follow it. Every time you get lost… And then when you came back and you told us what happened to you…"

I could feel tears dripping onto my shoulder. I squeezed him tighter.

I wasn't sure what advice I had given him, or what he was going through, but deep down, I felt something stir in me when I felt his tears. I didn't want them there. I wanted them gone. Forever. But I didn't know how to make that happened anymore. Perhaps the old Kaiya would have told a joke, or maybe told him to man up in a clearly joking manner, but I wasn't sure what to do.

So I just stood there and let him cry on me until someone noticed that we were still standing by the side of the road.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Shane asked, peeking around the back of the RV at us.

I nodded and Glenn lifted his head slightly to see who it was.

_As if that self-righteous, pompous-assed voice wasn't completely recognizable. _The thought had crossed my mind and vanished before I had a chance to investigate where it had come from.

Once Shane caught sight of Glenn's puffy eyes and tears, his eyes widened a fraction and he nodded, turning away.

Glenn sighed and pulled back.

Then I realized something. "Do you ever take this thing off?" I asked with a chuckle, grabbing the hat from his head. Another memory forcefully represented itself, engulfing me as my body went rigid.

"_Glenn!" I called, carrying a small bag in my hand as I skipped down the hallway to Glenn's room. _

_His daddy and my daddy were laughing in the kitchen, heading outside to the backyard where the party was going to be. _

"_Glenn!" I called again, opening his bedroom door. "Happy eighth berfday, Glenn!" I announced, throwing my arms up. Due to the four year age difference between us, Glenn was quite a bit taller than me. _

"_Hi, Kaiya!" Glenn said, grinning and standing from his seat on his bed where he was playing a PlayStation 1. He put his arms under my armpits and lifted me, hugging me tight. _

_I giggled. "Put me down, Glenn!" _

_He consented and set me down, taking notice of the blue bag I was carrying. "What's in that?" he asked. _

_I thought about it a minute, biting down on my lip. "Well, daddy said not to tell you 'cause its apposeda be a surprise, but if you act real surprised when you open it, then you can see it." _

_He nodded and held his hand out. I opened the bag and we both leaned our heads over it, peering curiously inside the bag. We worked together pushing the light blue tissue paper out of our way until we could see the blue and white hat in the bottom of the bag. _

"_Woah, cool!" Glenn exclaimed, grabbing the hat and settling it down on top of his black hair. "How does it look?" _

"_Cool," I said, grinning toothily (more or less). _

_We put the hat back into the bag and after I made him pinkie promise to act surprised, we went out back. A total of about fourteen children were there including Glenn and myself. Most were from this neighborhood, kids Glenn and I played with when I came over. Some were friends of Glenn's from school. _

_After we had eaten barbeque and cake, Glenn started to open presents. _

"_Open mine first!" I said, hopping excitedly up next to him. I winked at him as he grabbed the bag. _

_He pulled the hat out, obviously fake excitement scrawled across his face. But it was enough for our dads. My dad pulled out a camera and snapped a shot of Glenn putting his hat on and then one of Glenn giving me a hug, both of our faces turned toward the camera with our chubby cheeks squished up against each other. _

_When Glenn came to his dad's present, I heard his dad say, "Guess Kaiya kinda stole my thunder," but I wasn't sure what he meant, so I just watched as Glenn pulled a second hat from his father's bag. This one was red and orange. _

_I giggled. "We got him the same thing!" I said, announcing the obvious as most children my age tended to do. _

"You okay?" Glenn asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him into an even tighter hug. "I remember the hats. Me and your dad got you the same thing for your eighth birthday."

Glenn's breath hitched and he squeezed me tighter, seeming to be glad that I was remembering so much so quickly. Or maybe he was even more happy that he had his little sister back.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry its taken me so long to update, school has been taking up a lot of my time lately. Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Review! :) <strong>


	38. Glenn's Musings REQUEST FOR THE READERS

GLENN'S POV:

She was remembering more and more every day. I didn't want to rush her memory and flood her with too much information, but I was anxious to pull out all of the photographs she had shoved in her backpack when we left her house the morning of the apocalypse and show them to her. I decided to wait until tomorrow; she had already made so much progress today.

We positioned the cars in a tight circle around a very small section of the middle of the road, making sure we had everything set up before night fell. We would be staying near the center of the vehicles that were crowded around until morning when we could continue exploring. Shane would be riding in the Cherokee since we couldn't find any fuel for him. We had nowhere to go, no will to go on, and no hope.

But Kaiya seemed to be in her own little world, oblivious to the decay of society all around us. I guess there was a bright side to her sudden memory loss.

We had a quiet dinner of the things that we had been able to scavenge from Fort Benning before we had been forced to escape. We were running out of places to go, and Rick knew it.

You could see it in his face, in his eyes when he gazed for long minutes at the ground, as though expecting to find the solution there in the dirt. Tenseness seemed to be running high between Rick and Shane. It seemed like everything Shane was doing was pissing Rick off and that was screwing with Rick's decision-making skills.

Everyone was feeling a bit more exposed now, without Kaiya up and able to fight alongside Daryl like she used to. If not for her own good, and if not for my own returning sense of home, then I hoped Kaiya got her memory back for the protection of the other campers. Speaking of Daryl…

I gazed around and found he, Merle, and Emily sitting off on their own (although, in the confines of our cozy little circle, they weren't able to put much space between themselves and the rest of camp). Taking a glance at Emily, I realized I hadn't noticed her hanging all over Daryl like she used to. Come to think of it, ever since Merle showed up, she had been spending less and less time with Daryl.

I don't think Kaiya noticed, but she probably didn't remember enough of before to be able to tell the difference. It seemed even through the amnesia, she remembered how Daryl made her feel.

Maybe she didn't consciously remember it, but with how close they used to be, her body seemed to have picked up a on a few of the signals she was getting. It was like we were right back at the quarry all over again. Anytime Daryl (once again shrouded in mystery to Kaiya) glanced over at her, she blushed and quickly looked down. If he spoke directly to her, she seemed to stumble over her words in reply. And whenever he moved, her eyes darted up to him.

It was like it was happening all over again. She was falling in love all over again. And I didn't want to see her heart get broken again.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I would like to ask you guys a favor. If any of you like drawing and would like to make a picture of Kaiya and Daryl together, I would LOVE to see your ideas of what they would look like together. Please let me know if any of you guys would be interested in doing this! :) This sounds like shameless self-promotion, doesn't it? : Oh well! :) I would still like to see what you guys think of it. **


	39. Fucker

KAIYA'S POV:

My ribs were still kind of sore, but they were getting better. Sleeping in an uncomfortable position on them in the truck didn't help the soreness, though. Something I couldn't identify or explain inside me made me feel the need to tough it out.

So the next morning, when everyone was packing their things up, I decided to help. I grunted as I tried to lift one of the suitcases. It looked way lighter than it was.

"What do you think you're doing?" a woman's voice asked.

Before I could turn to look, the face of the one camper who hadn't introduced themselves to me at Fort Benning appeared on the other side of the suitcase.

"Thanks," I said as she grabbed the edge of the suitcase, helping me to load it into the back of Lori's car. "Emily, right?"

She nodded, her face blank.

When we got the suitcase in, we both expelled a sigh and sat on the inside of the open trunk. The car went down a bit when I sat down, but this woman was kind of heavy so the car drooped a bit lower when she sat down. I tried not to laugh.

"So you didn't answer my question," she said. "What did you think you were doing?"

I shrugged and frowned at her. "I keep getting this feeling that I should be helping. That there's something that I need to have in my hands but I don't know what it is. I don't know where its coming from and I don't know why I feel that way, but I do."

She sighed and looked down at the asphalt. "Kaiya, I'm sorry," she said.

I felt shocked, though I wasn't sure why. Some small voice in my mind whispered, "_That's the last thing Emily would EVER have said to me… at least I thought so…_" But I didn't know this woman, how would I know whether or not she was likely to say that? And besides, why would she be saying this? I don't remember her doing anything to me. Oh, right… amnesia.

"What do you mean?" I asked, brushing the hair away from my face.

She patted my hand sympathetically. "You really don't remember, huh?"

I shook my head, even more confused.

"You will eventually. And when you do… Remember this talk." She stood and walked over to Andrea and T-dog.

I kept my eyes glued to the spot she had been sitting, trying to decode the words she had said. When I realized it was a lost cause, I stood and started to walk back to my truck; it looked like everyone was ready to head out.

Glenn was standing by the truck. "I'll drive since you probably don't remember how to."

I nodded and went around the truck to the passengers' side. Daryl and Merle were sitting in the bed of the truck, both ready to get a move on. Glenn started the truck up quickly and followed after the rest of the caravan, but we had to stop again when we came across a road blockage.

"Why did people feel the need to clutter the roads with their vehicles before they kicked the bucket?" I groaned, surprised at myself for being so disrespectful to those who had died. I held a hand to my mouth, eyes wide. "Where did that come from?"

Glenn grinned and grasped my hand. "You're coming back."

Why did everyone feel the need to tell me that? I knew it even better than them. I could feel Kaiya in me, trying to get out. She was making great progress, too. For some reason this scared me. I couldn't quite put my finger on the reason, though.

I frowned and got out of the truck with Glenn.

"Check any of the cars for gas and supplies," Shane said, hopping out of the backseat of the station wagon.

I moseyed on over to a dark blue Honda with its trunk open. A light green blouse on a hanger was hanging from the lock mechanism on the inside of the trunk lid, moving only a tiny bit in the small breeze. I lifted the top off of the suitcase in the trunk, setting to work looking for medicine, food, or anything else useful.

A hand hit the edge of the trunk.

I looked up at the person. "Shit!" I yelled quietly when the decaying face and busted legs resonated with me.

Without giving much thought to what I was doing, I lifted a foot and kicked the walker in the stomach, sending him sprawling backwards onto the pavement and into the view of the other campers.

A few made small noises of fear and others tensed up, about to race forward before they saw I had this handled.

I snatched the hanger off of the trunk, ripping the blouse away and discarding it as I walked back over to the walker. He was trying to get up, still bent halfway over when I reached him. I brought my knee up hard into his stomach, my reply the sound of cracking ribs. I pushed him over again and straightened the hooked wire hanger out, driving the end of it through the walkers eye, straight through the brain.

I was panting by the time I was done killing the thing.

The kids were hanging onto their mothers tightly, the women were staring at the walker in disgust, the men were watching it with caution, and some of all of them were looking at me like I was the ghost of Christmas past.

Daryl, Glenn, and Rick all rushed forward to where I was wiping my mouth with the back of my wrist.

"What happened?" Rick asked urgently.

"Fucker snuck up on me," I spat down at its body.

"Did he get you?" Glenn asked, paling.

I shook my head no, shivering at the thought of how close I had been to getting eaten. A memory resurfaced as if in response to my thought.

_I just sat and listened to the sound of the water and the campers far up at the camp. I was so lost in non-thought that I almost didn't hear a pair of unsure footsteps approaching me. _

"_If you've come to apologize, don't bother," I said, keeping my eyes closed. _

_The footsteps got closer. _

_I frowned, sitting up and turning around. "Look, Dar-" _

_It wasn't Daryl. It was a walker. And it was standing between me and the camp, blocking my path off the dock. It moaned and made some gurgly snarling noises and continued limping toward me. _

_I scrambled to stand up and even then, I had nowhere to go. I was on the very edge of the dock as it was. If that walker took just one step forward, I would be within its reach. I couldn't jump into the water because it would come after me and that could contaminate the others' water supply. Then they would all be dead. _

_It took a step forward, arms swinging out. It grabbed hold of my wrist and started pulling me. I kicked out at it, only enraging it further. It opened its mouth, trying to get its mouth around my hand. I kicked harder, but my hand was in its mouth now. I was done. Game over. _

_But, just before it bit down, an arrow protruded from its forehead. It fell limply backwards. _

I came to with Daryl's hand on my shoulder, a questioning look in his eyes. Glenn and Rick were looking at me confusedly, too.

"I'm fine," I assured them.

They nodded hesitantly and went back to searching the cars.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please let me know if any of you are interested in that thing I mentioned in the last chapter! :) <strong>


	40. I Dare You To Move

DARYL'S POV:

Kaiya's foul language gave me hope that maybe she would be back to normal soon. Although I was a bit terrified for when she would find out just what I had done that made her run away and get abducted in the first place. It was my fault she was like this. An empty shell, having to refill little by little with memories that sometimes made her cry.

As thought about it, I didn't care if she did find out what I said that night that made her leave, as long as she was back to the way she used to be. Smiling and dancing around, acting like a little kid at everything she encountered, fighting like herself again as she had done mere seconds ago.

She walked out from under my touch and went back to the car trunk she had been looking through before she was attacked.

I shook my head and gazed around at the campers who were trying to calm themselves and get back to doing something normal. Or at least semi-normal. I saw Emily talking to Merle and Merle looked like he was at least trying to listen, but he was a bit busy glaring at Rick.

I glanced back at Kaiya who was still sorting through the items in the trunk of the vehicle. Glenn walked towards her, holding something small, rectangular, and black out to her. Her phone.

I crept closer, appearing to be interested in the contents of a car nearby.

"-your phone," Glenn said.

I picked up a small toiletry bag, occupying myself so my random standing wouldn't seem so strange.

"This is mine?" Kaiya asked. I assumed she had taken the phone.

"Yeah. I just want you to look through some of the stuff in it. Maybe some text messages you haven't deleted, or some pictures, or songs. Whatever you feel like doing. You can go ahead and do that while we search through the cars. I'm sure we've got everything covered so don't bother arguing that you have to help."

"Uh, Daryl?" Lori asked, cocking a brow at me with a comical look on her face. "What are you doing?"

My heart jumped and I thought I had been caught eavesdropping on Glenn and Kaiya. "Lookin' for supplies. The hell's it look like?"

She choked back a snicker. "Supplies meaning tampons?"

I looked down at the small box that I had subconsciously pulled out of the bag. Sure enough, on the cardboard box, the word Kotex was written in fancy script.

I felt my face heat up. "I-" I started.

Lori held up a hand and started to walk away. "Your secret's safe with me."

I glowered as she walked back to Carl and Rick.

"Hey, Daryl!" Glenn called, starting to jog up to me.

I quickly turned around and tried to shove the tampon box back into the bag behind my back. "What?" I barked, trying to find the opening of the damn bag already.

"Uh, I know she really doesn't need a babysitter, but," he glanced around guiltily and lowered his voice. "Could you keep an eye on Kaiya for me? I've been a little worried about her lately."

I nodded, squinting at him when my hear rate went down and my face became cooler as the box slid into the bag. I dropped it back into the trunk. "Sure. But why me?"

He looked taken aback. "Well, you and her are pretty close," I think he mumbled something about that kiss he witnessed. "and - never thought I'd say this - you're the only person I trust her with. I mean, I trust the others, but… She's my little sister, the only thing I have left. I know that you can keep her safe. I don't have to worry about her if she's with you."

A few of the lines in my forehead smoothed out. I looked down at the ground and hesitated before nodding again.

He started to walk away.

I looked back at Kaiya. She was plugging in a pair of headphones and putting them into her ears.

I turned back and went to Rick. "Ya got security handled?"

He nodded. "Unless a walker pops up. Then we'll need you." He looked behind me at Kaiya and realization settled over his expression. "Just as long as you can hop up quick enough to fight, we'll be fine."

I nodded, scowling, and went back to Kaiya.

She noticed me approaching before I made it to her. She smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

I grabbed a blanket out of the back of the car she had been looking through and laid it out on the ground. "Mind if I sit with ya?"

She shook her head, smirking. She sat down on the blanket and unlocked the phone easily.

I was surprised. I would have thought that she would have trouble remembering what to do. But then I remembered that the lock screen directed her to "slide to unlock". But that still would've taken some reaction time. And she didn't waste a single second getting to her music.

She held out a headphone to me. "Wanna listen?"

I took the headphone and put it in my ear as the music started.

Oh geez. I Dare You To Move by Switchfoot. This was the song that had changed just about everything between us. This was the song that made it obvious to the other campers that something had been up with me and Kaiya's relationship.

She set the phone down as the song played. I remembered everything as it had happened in coordination with the song. She started to lean back, laying down on the blanket. I laid back with her, watching her face. She closed her eyes and just listened.

"_What happens next? What happens next?_"

She tilted her head to the side a little and a small smile touched her lips. "Dance with me?" she asked, holding her hand out. She must have been replaying the scene consciously.

"No," I said, scowling.

"_I dare you to move. I dare you to move. I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor._"

"I bet Miguel would've danced with me," she sighed. The reminder of the young boy still stung.

"Evil woman," I muttered, every movement, every word still fresh in my mind even though I had been thoroughly inebriated.

"_Welcome to the fallout. Welcome to resistance. The tension is here. The tension is here._" Oh, how true.

"Thanks, Daryl," she said, her eyes still closed. I don't think she realized she was physically playing out exactly what happened that night at the CDC.

"For what?" I asked again, my own eyes closing now.

"_Between who you are and who you could be. Between how it is and how it should be._"

"Dancing with me. Being there for me. Everything."

"_I dare you to move!" _

"I dare you to move," she said in time with the song, the smirk audible in her voice.

I opened my eyes and saw that she was looking at me calmly.

It was all Kaiya right now. In her eyes, it was the same Kaiya she had been only a week ago, before all of this memory loss mess. In her eyes I could see the same sarcastic, cocky teenage girl she had been. A challenge that I had to meet was deep inside them. A love I had to embrace. And my heart hurt to look at it and know it would be gone in only a few minutes.

So I seized the moment and grabbed each side of her face, pulling her face to mine. Her expression wasn't of shock like the new Kaiya would have been. It was childlike glee and a teenage un-innocence. She met my lips first, just leaving a small peck. Then she pulled back a tiny bit, letting me decide if I was going to go the rest of the way or not.

Hell yeah, I was. I pressed my lips onto hers firmly, but softly.

The song still playing in our ears brought back the memories of that night. But this time, no one pulled us apart.

"_Maybe redemption has stories to tell. Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell. Where can you run to escape from yourself? Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go? Salvation is here! I dare you to move._"

And, even if for a very small amount of time, I got to have my Kaiya back. She would eventually be herself nonstop, but for now, this was all I could have and I was happy with it. My Kaiya. I liked the sound of that.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm soooooo sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy lately with a lot of homework, having to study for TAKS tests, then take said TAKS tests, and a lab report I have to do. But anyway, I hope you liked it, thanks for reading! Review! :) <strong>


	41. Sexy and I Know It

KAIYA'S POV:

I opened my eyes again, staring up at a blue sky. "Daryl?" I asked, keeping my eyes on a cloud shaped like a heart.

"Yeah?" he asked, arm thrown across his eyes as we listened to Rockin' That Thang by The Dream. He had objected to listening to it at first, but when I pouted and said that it was for my memories, he had grudgingly agreed.

"Do you think I'll ever remember everything?"

I could see out of the corner of my eye his head snap over to look at me. "'Course ya are." He sounded like he didn't want to believe any differently, but I wasn't so sure if maybe I would never get them all back. I mean, sure I had made a lot of progress in such a short amount of time, but who's to say that I would keep progressing at this pace?

I didn't want to have to tell him that, though, so I just nodded and closed my eyes again.

The song changed. Differences by Ginuwine. How the hell did I know that? I wasn't completely sure but whatever…

After a few moments, I opened my eyes and found that I was singing along with the words I was sure I had never heard before. "My whole life has changed. Since you came in. I knew back then. You were that special one. I'm so in love, so deep in love." I looked over at Daryl who was staring at me in shock. "How long have I been doing that?" I asked, pointing to my mouth.

"'bout the whole song."

I grinned widely and hopped up, ripping the headphone out of my ear. I starting singing a different song, skipping up to where everyone else was. I spun around, making small dance steps as I moved toward everyone. "I'm sexy and I know it!"

LORI'S POV:

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Kaiya was basically back.

CARL'S POV:

I watched, fascinated, as Kaiya skipped around happily, singing. She seemed to be the only grownup that knew how to have fun after all of the walkers came around. Seeing that she had gotten her memory erased had been awful, but she was coming back now and Sophia and I would have someone to goof around with again.

RICK'S POV:

I grinned and looked at Kaiya. She was beaming, trailing a hand along Shane's shoulders, lingering with one finger on the edge of his shoulder, turning to look him in the eye with an eyebrow raised as he blushed furiously. Then she froze.

"I'm sexy and I know it," and she jumped away with the sudden gracefulness only prone to such a brilliant dancer.

I could see brief flashes in her eyes of concentration and then the easy joy that fueled her dancing. An internal battle between old Kaiya and new. But if I had to judge, I would say old Kaiya was winning.

SHANE'S POV:

She ran her hand along my shoulders, causing a bright heat to rush to my face. I watched her grin back at me and freeze there, then she said, "I'm sexy and I know it," and leaped away, spinning when her foot hit the ground.

I couldn't honestly say Kaiya and I had exactly been "friends" before, but it was definitely good to see her coming back to normal.

T-DOG'S POV:

As Kaiya came away from Shane, doing a full spin, she stopped right next to me and started rocking back and forth, elbows tucked into her sides as she rolled her fists around each other.

I joined in the motion and she giggled at me.

The stress seemed to be lifted off of me for a moment. Kaiya tended to have that kind of an effect on our group. She was concentrated stress relief, as well as entertainment and protection. She might want to come back soon, because if she didn't, we would be dying of heart attacks.

DALE'S POV:

I chuckled delightedly as Kaiya and T-dog shifted from side to side. Then she jumped around a bit, doing some weird things to her body that pertained to dancing, but I wasn't exactly sure any of the technical terms for them.

She held her hand out as she walked towards me. I grabbed it and pulled her in, beginning to waltz to the beat she was laying out with the song that didn't quite fit the dance. I let go of her side and spun her with her hand.

She let go of my hand, still spinning and made her way to Carol and Sophia.

CAROL'S POV:

She spun away from Dale and came over to Sophia and I. She grabbed one of each of our hands and whispered, "Follow me," between the lines of the song.

She began running in a circle, Ring-Around-The-Rosie style. We followed along.

Then she stopped us and held up a finger, flattening out her hand and smacking it onto the top of her head. Sophia and I watched.

She seemed to started to the wave with her body, but stopped once she got to her hips and moved her feet outward and inward rapidly without lifting them and then the wave went back up her body and she did a back handspring, ending up just in front of Glenn.

SOPHIA'S POV:

Watching Kaiya dance and dancing with her was probably the most fun I had had since the dance we had at the CDC.

She did what looked like a back flip, but her legs were completely together, and planted herself right in front of Glenn. She started to fall backwards, her arms held up as her eyes drifted closed.

GLENN'S POV:

Kaiya did a back handspring and landed right in front of me, beginning to trust-fall backward.

I knew what to do. This was part of a routine I had helped her practice for when she was 8. She must've subconsciously remembered this part of the routine and the fact that I would know what to do.

I held my arms out and lowered her down then pushed her forward and her eyes popped open. She held a hand out to me. I grabbed her hand as she danced around behind me and brought her hand over my head to my other shoulder. Then I brought her in and spun her up until both of my arms were wrapped around her and then I let go with my left hand and spun her outward with the other arm, spinning her straight toward Emily and Andrea.

ANDREA'S POV:

Glenn spun away from Kaiya and she came toward Emily and I.

I prepared myself to do anything.

She jumped behind us and started singing, "Ahhhh, girl look at that body," pointing at Daryl who was redder than a tomato.

She hung her arms around our shoulders and we both looked over at him, grinning.

She repeated the phrase two more times before saying, "I work out!" and holding both of her arms up in a muscular pose.

She danced over to Merle and sang the same part, but when she said I work out, she lifted his arm up like a pose.

She took slow steps, looking up and fanning each side of her face with her hand, the other hand on her hip as she walked toward Daryl.

EMILY'S POV:

She took deliberate steps away from Merle and towards Daryl.

"When I walk in the spot, this is what I see." She stopped and jumped up, legs apart.

"Everybody steps and they staring at me," she held up both hands to either side of her and then looked at all of us, pointing to them.

"I got passion in my pants and I aint afraid to show it, show it, show it," she froze and then ran at Daryl, launching herself at him.

Just in time, he opened his arms and caught her bridal style.

She grinned up at him and said, "I'm sexy and I know it."

DARYL'S POV:

It was ridiculous, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't having a little fun just watching her dance.

Then she jumped at me. Before she could fall and hit the ground, I grabbed her under her back and the backs of her knees.

She smiled up at me. "I'm sexy and I know it." Damn girl, being right.

* * *

><p><strong>I just felt like this what they needed to lighten things up :P Thanks for reading! Review! :)<strong>


	42. Amy

KAIYA'S POV:

Daryl rolled his eyes, an unrecognizably tiny bit of a smile ghosting on his lips. Now that I was this close to them… I really wanted to just…

I felt his arms beginning to tilt me so that my feet were almost touching the ground. I let go of his neck and hopped off, shaking those thoughts from my head. But having to forget about those actions with him didn't take away from my eudemonia.

Everyone chuckled a bit, some harder than others, some still blushing from the figurative spotlight I seemed to have put them under. Shane sure as hell still was.

I took some deep breaths, trying to catch my breath. That back handspring had really been tough, trying to get the right angle to jump backwards at so that I didn't kick Sophia or Carol in the face and so that I landed right where I needed to. But that was just with positioning. Actually doing it had taken a bit out of me.

"I didn't know ya could do that," Daryl said, pointing to where I had flipped as everyone got back to work.

The answer came out of my mouth before I had time to thoroughly evaluate it. "I took gymnastics when I was little because my mom thought it would come in useful in dancing. Turns out she was right, but I haven't really done anything too much like that in a while." I stretched my limbs a bit. "I really should stretch more before that."

He chuckled and shook his head.

I looked up at the sky. "Its close to dark," I said, musing aloud.

Daryl looked up too and frowned, nodding. The sun was beginning to sink low in the sky. "And we cant stay here. We'll be easy pickin' fer walkers," he murmured, watching the sun droop lower. He lowered his gaze and walked over to Rick and Lori.

I kept watching the sky. I had a feeling something big was about to happen. I wasn't sure if it would be good or bad, but something big was coming.

I sighed and grabbed my phone and headphones from the blanket laid out on the ground and stuck them in my back pocket.

"We'll be heading out as soon as we find a car with gas and keys," Rick announced, resting an arm on Carl's shoulder.

I rested up against one of the cars around behind me, extremely tired after the random dancing. I closed my eyes and tilted my head backwards.

"Found one!" Shane called. I opened my eyes and saw him tinkering with what looked like a broken door handle on a crappy old blue Ford Escort. There were dents in several places in it, the tags had been out since before the apocalypse, and one headlight was busted in.

I snorted a laugh, covering my mouth.

Shane's head snapped up at once to glare at me. "Just 'cause you got a badass truck," he mumbled, pulling harder than before on the car door.

I grinned back at my truck proudly. Me and my dad had done good on it. I cast my eyes skyward.

There was no way, even if my father had been turned into a demonic monster, that he hadn't gone to Heaven. He had deserved it. He was a good man, always putting his family first and making sure they had everything they could need.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I tensed up, thinking it would be another walker, but when I turned my head, Daryl was standing beside me, a confused expression on his face.

That was when I felt a tear sliding down the top of my cheek.

He wiped it away with a fingertip. "Whatcha cryin' for?" he asked quietly.

I shrugged, looking back at the truck. "Thinking about my dad."

He squeezed my shoulder gently.

"Lets head out," Rick called out as everyone scurried to get into their vehicles before night fell.

For some reason, Merle climbed into the Escort with Shane. I watched him suspiciously. I didn't think this was normal for him, but I couldn't really remember.

Glenn passed by me and Daryl and hopped into the drivers seat of the truck.

I looked up at Daryl, wiping at any excess saltwater beneath my eyes. "You gonna ride in the bed of the truck again?" I asked.

He nodded, glancing worriedly back at the Escort. He walked to the bed of the truck and hopped up easily over the side.

I went to Glenn's open door and leaned on his shoulder with my crossed arms. "I think I'm going to ride in the back with Daryl," I said, watching his face.

He frowned but nodded, starting up the truck. I began to pull away, but at the last minute, Glenn said, "Kaiya," and grabbed my hand, turning me back to him. He planted a kiss on my forehead and whispered, "Come back."

I closed my eyes, his chin still resting against my forehead and both hands on either side of my face.

The RV began pulling away, so Glenn released me and I moved to the bed of the truck.

"What're ya doin'?" Daryl asked, standing up.

I tried scrambling up the side of the bed. "Riding in the back with you, what does it look like?"

He scowled. "No ya aint."

I looked up at him. "Last I checked, this was MY truck. Now are you gonna help me up, or not?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes irritably, holding a hand down to me.

I grabbed it and stuck my foot on top of the tire, pushing myself up off of the ground. His free arm grabbed my other side and pulled me up over the edge of the bed and into it.

I stumbled against him and grabbed at his arm, my left hand still in his right. I looked up at his eyes, the blue in them deep and sparkling. It seemed watching his eyes never got old.

His mouth was nearing mine when Glenn hit the gas then stomped on the brake, sending us flying onto our asses in the bed of the truck.

"Da hell?" I yelled, half laughing, half actually kind of pissed off.

Daryl banged on the back window. "Ya sure ya know what yer doin' in there, Short Round?" he spat loudly.

"My bad!" Glenn called out, but it sounded like he didn't really mean it.

I saw something moving awkwardly near the car next to us, stumbling around limply. Long blond hair, pale skin, and a blue blood-soaked shirt were all I needed to see.

"Get us outta here!" Daryl yelled at Glenn, gesturing to the gas pedal.

"I cant, the RV is still in front of us!" Glenn called back hysterically.

Another one came up, but I was zoned in on the blond one, our eyes locked, mine hazel hers blood-shot blue. I wanted to look away, felt like it was unnatural to have a staring contest with a zombie, but she didn't seem to be moving, either.

Beside me, I just barely registered Daryl cocking his crossbow.

The facial features seemed too familiar, the colors of this used-to-be person too similar to an old memory that was still half-forgotten.

"_You are totally crushing all over Daryl Dixon!" "I'm assuming this has something do to with someone whose name rhymes with Will Ferrell?" "She's my sister you son of a bitch." "You're scared for them aren't you?" "If you keep doing that, you're going to give yourself a headache!" _

An arrow struck the center of her forehead and the strange connection I had with the walker was lost.

"No! Amy!" I yelled, my hand instinctively going to Daryl's arm_. _

_I took a deep breath now that the panic was over. In the violent haze, I had made my way closer to the RV. There was blood splattered on every inch of me. I would have to burn my clothes later. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, smearing some of the blood across my cheek. _

_Then I looked down. Andrea was kneeling down on the ground, bent over something my brain was numb to seeing. All my heart-broken mind would allow me to register was the blurry shape of a body with white-blond hair spilling out onto the ground. _

_Tears mixed with the blood on my face and I sobbed, stumbling backwards and falling to my butt. I kept my legs where they were, propped up against the ground, and brought my hands to my face, covering my eyes and shaking my head. _

_This was a nightmare. It had to be. And when I stopped shaking my head and woke up, I would be back home, Donkey barking and my parents waiting for me at the breakfast table. Everyone would still be alive. Every walker that ever turned, Amy, and even Merle (if he was dead). _

"_No…" I whispered, my hands still over my eyes. _

I felt Daryl giving an odd look to the side of my face.

But now that my weird flashback moment was over, I was able to come to terms with the fact that we were basically about to be covered on all sides by walkers. I turned to look out of the windshield. The RV was just beginning to pull out. If we didn't hurry this along, Daryl and I would be eaten.

I looked around. At least 15 of them. Where had they all come from?

"I don't have enough arrows for them all," Daryl said, leaning back against the back window of the truck.

I grabbed his arm and leaned my head on his shoulder. He pushed my shoulders back, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "I'll see ya again," he said as a walker lifted its leg up onto the bed of the truck, lumbering up to us.

A few tears fell. He pulled me to his chest, cradling my head against his shoulder so I was turned away from the mob of walkers around us. I could feel his head turned to watch the walker that was right over us.

"NO!" Glenn screamed, stomping on the gas and flying after the back of the RV, sending the walker backwards a bit. But it was caught on the tailgate.

All the other walkers were still trying to run after us, but getting out of the traffic jam had given us a lot more space to get our speed up.

"We're alive," I said, unbelievingly.

"Not yet we're not," Daryl growled, letting me go and standing to knock the walker still in the bed upside the face with the butt of his crossbow. It almost fell all the way back, but it was caught on the tailgate again. It was hanging half over the end, so Daryl just pushed the center of its chest, sending it to the pavement at a speed that would have cracked his skull.

Daryl sat back down and breathed a huge sigh.

My heart was racing, but I stayed on my butt, my hands behind me, supporting me. I watched the tailgate and then swallowed back against what felt like vomit. My eyes moved over to Daryl. "Who's Amy?" I asked as Daryl scooted back so that his back was against the back window of the truck.

He sighed and looked down. "Andrea's sister," he said.

"Was that her?" I asked, gesturing half-heartedly to where I had almost suffered from sensory overload.

He shook his head no. "But it did look an awful lot like her."

I frowned and rubbed at my eye. It was wet. I pulled my hand away and looked confusedly at the tears there. "What exactly was she to me?" I asked, unsure why I was crying.

He held his arm up. I sat closer to him and let him pull me to him. "She was yer best friend. Not includin' Glenn."

"What happened to her?" I was unable to look up at his face; my head was angled away from him and he had an arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding my head to his chest.

He sighed again. "Ya were comin' back from Atlanta with me, Rick, T-dog, and Glenn and right when we got back… Camp was attacked by a herd of those bastards. Amy was the first to know. She was the first in our group to die." His bluntness should have surprised me but it didn't. I felt I knew him, though I really didn't, and that included knowing that he really didn't censor himself much.

I let a slow breath out, closing my eyes as my tense muscles relaxed. It was kind of cold with the vehicle moving and winter quickly coming, but Daryl was warm. I tried to scoot closer to him, leaving my eyes closed. After about two seconds, we were both asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was quite a bit longer than usual. I figured that after all of those amazing reviews, I owed it to you guys :) Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! Review! <strong>


	43. Conspiracy

SHANE'S POV:

Mere choosing to ride with me was something that rather surprised (as well as disgruntled) me. Kaiya's look of curiosity was proof that she, too, was suspicious of his vehicle choice. Even the amnesiac thought it was weird. I kept quiet about it, though.

The RV starting pulling slowly out of the traffic jam, weaving in and out of the parked piles of scrap metal. We were just barely inching forward, waiting for there to be enough room for us to pull out in front of Kaiya's truck as Mere and I sat in an awkward silence I didn't feel inclined to break.

I glanced up in my rearview mirror to see a pale, blond walker limping around brokenly.

I was off to the side of our convoy, so I could clearly see Kaiya's reaction to the walker. She seemed to sit up straighter, cocking her head to the side like a curious cat as her eyebrows crinkled as though she was trying to figure out a tough math problem. I wasn't worried about them; it was just one walker and Kaiya could take care of herself well enough without Daryl, let alone with him right beside her.

But what happened next was the most incredible thing I thought I had ever seen. The undead beast, its purpose undefined and the memories of its past life completely burned from its mind, seemed to have a connection with Kaiya. The walker stood completely still, mouth still open with blood dripping from between her teeth, but her blue eyes, locked on Kaiya's, were wide and concentrated. But this concentration wasn't the concentration I saw in most walkers when they realized what they were looking at was indeed their next meal. It was an intense concentration that Kaiya returned.

They were both stuck in each other's gaze when Daryl lifted his crossbow and quickly shot the arrow into the walker's head.

"No! Amy!" I could hear Kaiya yell even from here.

I glanced worriedly at the unmoving RV, hoping Andrea hadn't heard. We really didn't need that kind of drama right now.

So that was what had been going on in Kaiya's mind. She thought the walker was Amy. At least she did subconsciously; she didn't remember Amy and the only thing we had told her about Amy was that she was Andrea's younger sister. She was regaining parts of her memory without direct contact to a meaningful piece of her past. Mere coincidence and similarities were bringing her back now.

"Shit," I spat when more walkers came stumbling out from behind vehicles close to their end of the truck bed. I couldn't back up and give them enough room to pass, I would have to pull out in front of them if any of us wanted a chance at making it out alive. But the RV was moving at a painfully slow pace.

I pressed the gas pedal down a bit farther, finally getting the end of my car out into the lane. Finally, the RV made it out of the blockage. They seemed to know that Kaiya and Daryl and possibly Glenn were in danger because they stomped on the gas and took off like a bullet out of the crowd of cars. I followed their lead, trying to get into the other lane so I could give Glenn more room to pull the truck out of.

He got out, but there was still a walker in the bed of the truck. Daryl took care of it easily, pushing it backwards off of the truck. As the craziness calmed down some, I looked over at Merle who had said nothing the entire time.

I cleared my throat nervously. Quite honestly, the handless redneck scared the bejeezus out of me. "So, what'd you ride with me for? Why not in Kaiya's truck?"

He didn't take his eyes off of the road ahead of us. "I think ya know why."

I blinked at him a couple times, confused by the tone of his voice, implying that I really did know what he wanted to ride with me for. Obviously if I did, I wouldn't have asked him. I wasn't about to say that to him, though.

When I didn't reply, he gave an exasperated eye roll and turned his head toward me, a mocking smirk on the corner of his mouth.

I had to look away from his piercing gaze, so I looked back at the road. Swallowing my apprehension of angering this particular hillbilly, I coughed and asked, "Well?"

"Yer pal, Rick," he started slowly. "Ya don't seem to be so buddy-buddy with him no more. I notice he took that bitch back-"

"Lori!" I snapped, unable to control the anger in my voice. When I had myself under a bit more control, I said, "Her name's Lori."

He chuckled humorlessly. "Whatever. _Lori. _So what's with ya two? Ya gonna let a whore," I clenched my jaw but said nothing this time. "get between you and yer best bud?" He cackled, his words coming out as a derisive jibe.

I shook my head, a frown on my face as we turned a long curve onto another back road. "What do you know about it?" I asked, not looking back at him.

He turned serious. "I know ya wanna kill him." He had said it quietly, but the amount of knowledgeable menace dripping from his remark stunned me into looking wide-eyed up at him. He cracked a small grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, I see things. Just 'cause I don't gotta hand or a college degree don't mean I'm stupid."

I locked my jaw and stared straight ahead at the road through squinted eyes. How in the hell had Merle figured all this out so quickly? It had even taken Dale, who had been around longer to witness some of our tenseness, up until the point when I rounded my gun on Rick's turned and oblivious back to realize that I wanted the man dead.

I kept my mouth shut, driving along behind the RV.

"Fine, don't talk," Merle grumbled. "Just listen. I think we have some common ground to go on here. See, Rick's the reason this happened to me." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him lifted his stump of a hand. "If he hadn't shown up, everything woulda been all fine and dandy. I know yer thinkin' the same thing. The bitch and her boy, they was yers before he showed up and took 'em offa ya. Hell ya was set fer post-apocalyptic life till he showed up. But he did and it didn't turn out good fer either of us. So ya see, we can work together in this. All we need is to lure him out, make it look like a walker did it, and ditch the scene before anyone goes snoopin' too much."

His offer was appealing in a dangerous way. If we killed Rick successfully, things went back to normal for me. I got Lori and Carl back and he stayed dead, the way things were supposed to be. For some reason, I suspected more than just vengeance on Merle's mind when he spoke of Rick's demise.

"Why do I get the feeling this has more to do with Daryl than your hand?" I asked, cocking a brow at the steering wheel.

He sneered at me and I knew I'd struck a nerve. "Just drive would ya? It aint got nothin' to do with Darlina." Though he was speaking calmly and non-guiltily, his eyes had a defensive edge to them.

I nodded, unwilling to make him any more angry while we were in such a confined space. Even without one of his hands, Merle could kick my ass. And he scared me shitless. He was the only person (other than Riley Wilson from the 5th grade) I had ever met that intimidated me so much.

Anyone else, I would risk pissing them off some more. Daryl came close to me not fucking with him, but he was a bit more forgiving than his tough-shit brother. Not that the "bit more" was very much. Just enough for me to feel safe in my assumption that I could at least evade Daryl's punches until he got less pissed off. But with Merle, I felt threatened even without poking the bear any further.

So I just kept it at the nod. Until, after a few minutes, I asked in a near-silent whisper, "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry my updates have been so infrequent, but my siblings just love to totally computer-jack me : Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you liked it! :D Review! **


	44. Motel 8

GLENN'S POV:

We drove until the clock on Kaiya's dash read 8:27. Which really meant it was 9:27. She never changed her clock.

We pulled over on the side of the road beside an old motel. There was a closed sign on the door but underneath (in what I hoped was red paint) was written "forever". The windows were black, covered with curtains and the door had a large dent in the middle of it.

I shut the truck off and got out, walking to the RV.

"Lets check it out," Rick said, checking to see how many bullets were in his revolver. That was all he had to say. We had been doing this so much that it seemed like we had been going through this routine every day of our lives.

I went back to the truck to see if Kaiya and Daryl were still back there. Rick and Shane followed me.

What we found was Kaiya and Daryl both asleep, Daryl arms wrapped around Kaiya's torso and his legs out in front of him, his cheek leaned down on the top of her head. She was curled up, her legs folded beneath her and her shoulders squished close to Daryl's chest. Her mouth was hanging slightly open because her cheek was pressed up against Daryl's chest.

I felt myself smiling and looked over at Rick and Shane. They, too, were grinning smugly.

"You think they know they can tell us about them yet?" Shane asked, still smirking.

Rick shook his head. "They still think we actually care that he's close to double her age."

"Lets just keep them clueless for a little while longer," I said, leaning against the closed tailgate.

Shane and Rick nodded. "Well, lets let them sleep, they deserve it. And we've got it covered."

We left the truck and pulled our weapons out, quietly maneuvering through the dark hotel.

KAIYA'S POV:

When I woke up, I was still in Daryl's arms. He wasn't asleep, though. I yawned, my face still angled downward.

"Mornin'," he said quietly, his voice rumbling through his chest.

I grinned. "Its not really morning," I said, looking out at the dark sky.

He chuckled. "Smartass."

I lifted my head. He was smiling sleepily at me, blue eyes illuminated by the stars. I coughed and looked around, ignoring the way my heart was flopping around inside my chest. "So where are we?"

He lifted himself up. "An old motel." He stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and let him pull me up. I looked around. All of our cars were here, parked on the side of the road beside the old motel building.

"Are they all inside?"

He nodded. An unlit Motel 8 sign was up on a billboard just in front of the building. We quietly hopped out of the truck bed and gathered our things to go inside.

"So they just left us out here asleep where walkers could get us?" I asked, frowning as we approached the doors.

He shook his head. "After they searched the place, they woke me up. I told 'em to go on ahead. I had us covered. Didn't wanna wake ya."

"Oh."

He held the door open for me and we followed the sounds of conversation to what I assumed used to be the manager's office. It was awfully big for that though. Maybe the lobby. But motels didn't really have lobbies. Did they? Whatever.

I shoved aside my internal banter and sat down on the ground beside Glenn. "Hey," he said, grinning and tossing an arm around my shoulder so that he could pull me over and plant a kiss on my forehead. "You doing okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

He shook his head. "You just look kinda shaken up. Did something happen?"

I gave him a confused look. Nothing had happened. I didn't feel shaken up. Maybe it was just the headache that I was developing seemingly for no reason. "Nah, I'm fine. Just a little headache."

He nodded with a small frown, then held up a can of what looked like refried beans that had been heated up. I don't know with what, but I guess they built a fire outside or something. I took it from him gratefully and tried to quiet my grumbling belly as the other campers talked light-heartedly.

I couldn't help but notice that Merle and Shane were sharing some pretty meaningful looks. _Are they gay together now or something? _I shrugged to myself and continued eating.

When I was done eating and everyone was ready to go to sleep, they assigned watch duty and rooms. Rick had a layout of the motel mapped out on a piece of blueprint paper. "Glenn, Kaiya, you guys can stay in 13C."

We nodded and headed into the room. Glenn shut the door behind us and sighed. "Can I ask you something?" he started quietly.

I nodded, turning back to where he was leaning against the closed door, his face angled away.

"What's it like?" he whispered, almost inaudibly.

I squinted through the darkness at him and moved a step closer. "Glenn?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't look up. "Glenn, what are you talking about?"

He looked up, his eyes the only thing I could really see very good. They were filled with pain. "What's it like?" he repeated.

I swallowed. "What's what like?"

He slumped over and slid to the ground. "Not remembering."

I frowned. "Well, its kind of hard to explain."

"Can you try? Please?"

My heart broke for him. I sat slowly on the ground with him.

"Well, sometimes it kinda sucks. I always feel like there's something missing. Like there's an inside joke and I'm not allowed to know no matter what. And then I have to go through all of the pain and tears and sadness all over again. All of the stuff I thought I would never have to face, resurfacing so I have no choice but to think about it and remember it." My voice was shaking with emotion.

Glenn was biting his lip and staring at the ground.

I lifted a hand to the side of his face, making his eyes come up to my face. "But sometimes… it really is amazing. Along with the bad stuff… I get to relive all of the best moments of my life. Some happiness. And on top of that, I don't really remember completely what my life was like before all this apocalypse business, so this really doesn't seem too bad in comparison."

He chuckled with me.

"I guess there really isn't any specific way to classify it. It just depends on how you look at it."

He nodded and put his hand over mine on his face.

"You are gonna get so many zits," I said on a laugh.

He laughed, too. "You're the teenager, not me."

I yawned.

"Come on," he said, standing and pulling me up with him. "Lets go to sleep."

I laid down and let the dreams take over the minute my head hit the pillow.

Oo0oO

A swirl of color, a range of emotions, a cornucopia of images, all flashing by my mind's eye. Everything.

My first birthday.

Glenn's laser tag 10th birthday.

My mom's tendency to burn lasagna. No other food, just lasagna.

That cute boy around my age that had an internship at my dad's car shop and smiled at me every time I came to drop dad off his lunch.

The number 12 I ordered every time I went to Whataburger with my mom on the first Thursday of every month.

That damn Spanish exam! (which, for the record, could go burn in hell)

The first time I laid eyes on Daryl Dixon, car lights illuminating his rugged features, his hair a bit lighter back then than it was now. All of the pain we put each other through.

Amy.

Jim.

Jacqui.

Dr. Jenner.

The charade with Miguel and Emily.

Oh, God, Miguel. Though I was asleep, I knew my body was crying. That poor boy had done nothing to deserve the hell I put him through (even if he didn't know it) and he definitely hadn't deserved that kind of a death.

Daryl… That night I fled from the camp to seek relief from the pain that Daryl seemed to love inflicting on me. Even though I knew he was just reacting in anger due to his own home-made self-defense mechanism.

The last thing I saw before I woke up was the face of the walker that I had seen right before I was abducted by my assaulters. Jim.

* * *

><p><strong>Just thought you guys would like to know, earlier while I was in Walmart, I saw a lady who I swear was the spitting image of Emily. I about had a fucking heart attack :P Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Please please please review! :) <strong>


	45. Haircut

DARYL'S POV:

I was on watch in the morning, guarding the opaque glass door of the old motel with my crossbow cocked and ready. The campers were just starting to wake up. I could heart Carl and Sophia yawning as their mothers tried to find food for them. The only ones who weren't up yet were Kaiya and Glenn.

"Daryl fucking Dixon!" Make that just Glenn. Kaiya yelled at me down the hall, an unmistakable note of anger in her voice. The last time I had heard her sound like that, she had been running away from me and into a city filled with walkers and Mexican rapists.

I turned, heart racing.

Kaiya was standing at the end of the hall, glaring at me with her feet spread and her sifted hands out to either side of her. But this was more than just a simple glare. This was Kaiya-level rage. I could practically see the fire burning in her focused eyes.

I was taken aback. Was it just my overly hopeful imagination, or did she seem just like her old self again? Like not a day had passed between the time I threw her into the quarry fully clothed and now?

"I remember everything," she snarled, narrowing her eyes at me.

I paled. "Ya do?"

She nodded menacingly, beginning to take slow steps down the hall to me. "You bet your countrified ass I do."

I started moving down the hall toward her, a bit fast than she was moving.

"I remember what you said at the CDC, and after Miguel died, and-"

I cut her off, occupying her mouth with my own. I let out all of my pain and sadness into the kiss, wrapping my arms around her and letting her melt into the embrace.

I could feel a tear slide down her face, barely grazing my skin with our closeness. I felt a whimper in the back of her throat as more tears spilled over.

I pulled away and sighed as she fell against my chest and cried. She raised a fist and weakly beat my chest.

"Shh," I murmured, holding her tighter and trying to ignore the curious eyes of our fellow survivors. She continued to sob, squeezing my shirt over and over, balling it up repeatedly in her hand. I held her close to me and tried to understand what she might be feeling.

But I couldn't get over the happiness that she now remembered everything. But she remembered some things I didn't want her to remember… like what I had said to make her leave.

Over her shoulder, I noticed Glenn leaning sleepily out of the doorway to their room. He looked confused, but he didn't say anything.

"What's going on?" Rick asked with confusion mirroring Glenn's.

"She remembers."

That one statement caused a silent few seconds of hesitation and then an influx of apocalypse survivors trying to hug her. I released her, my stomach suddenly feeling like it was filled with ice water, and allowed her to get swept up in a group hug that excluded me (Merle didn't join in either). The women cried with her, the men simply grinned, and the kids couldn't control their giggles.

As I thought more about her remembrance of the whole Miguel issue, my stomach felt even worse. I backed up, exiting the motel so I could get away from the noise and the girl I loved that probably hated me now. I gripped my crossbow tighter and gazed off into the distance behind her truck, watching the road ahead for danger. I guess I really couldn't blame her if she did hate me.

I sighed and looked away from the empty road, trying t distract myself. I would hate me if I was her.

"Hey, Dixon!" I heard someone behind me call.

I turned slowly.

Kaiya was standing there, cheeks tear-stained and eyes red. She smirked. "I think I owe you a haircut."

I cocked a brow at her, confused.

She started walking toward me, her arms folded across her chest and the tears no longer flowing. "Remember? After you cleaned the mud off of my shoes down at the quarry, I said that to make up for it, I would give you a haircut since you cant stand to let it get long." She stopped right in front of me, smiling up at me just like she used to. She kept the smile in place and lifted her eyes to my hair, bringing her hand up as well to curl a strand around her finger.

"Kaiya," I whispered, cupping her cheek. My eyes stung but I refused to let myself cry. So she obviously didn't hate me. She wanted to give me a haircut.

She took her hand away from my hair and laid it over my own hand on her face. "C'mon Daryl," she said, a kind of sad look in her eyes. Then she turned happy. "Let's get this done!" She was so excited and cocky. Just like she used to be.

It was almost heartbreaking to see her back to normal. I would do anything for her in this moment. I nodded without hesitation. "Got any scissors?"

Her face went blank. "Scissors." Then she turned and grabbed my hand, pulling me with her back into the motel where everyone seemed to be in a one hundred percent better mood. "Does anybody have any scissors? I'm going to cut Daryl's hair," she announced, making a goofy hand gesture to her own long hair, using two fingers as scissors and "clipping" off a strand.

"I think I have some somewhere," Lori said, getting up and rubbing Carl's head as she disappeared into her room.

"So, Kaiya," Dale said. "How did it happen?"

She shrugged. "I was asleep and I thought it was all a dream, but somehow I knew they were memories. I kinda had to relive them all. But when I woke up, everything was back in place."

Lori exited her room, a pair of scissors and a comb in her hand. She handed them to Kaiya.

"Okay, come on, Daryl," Kaiya said, tugging me back outside.

"Where are you guys going?" Shane asked when we reached the door.

"The RV, duh," Kaiya said, obviously trying very hard not to roll her eyes. "I don't want all of you watching while I work on my masterpiece." She narrowed her eyes with a tiny smile and ran her hand down the side of my head.

God I had missed her.

They all chuckled and allowed us to leave.

"So why are we really goin' to the RV?" I asked when we had left the building.

She opened up the door and pointed inside. "There's a mirror in there."

I stepped inside before her as she instructed and sat in the bench I remember Amy used to sit across from her in. Back at the quarry, I would walk around and if I felt eyes on me, I could count on Amy and Kaiya to be trying not to openly stare at me out of the RV window.

"And I wanted to talk to you alone," she said gesturing for me to turn so that I was facing out into the small aisle where she was standing. She started running the comb through my hair, carefully watching what she did. "So what did I miss while I was-" she cut off, a look of hurt in her eyes. "umm… missing?"

I frowned. It still pissed me off to think that anybody had taken advantage of Kaiya. This sweet, young girl deserved nothing like that. Hell, she deserved better than any man could give her.

I wrapped my arms around her midsection (which was about eye-level right in front of me) and tugged her into my lap, staring down into her eyes. "Honestly?"

She rolled her eyes with a smirk. "No, I want you to lie to me."

"My life stopped the minute ya left."

She leaned up, grinning, and pecked my cheek. When she pulled away, she lightly slapped my arm. "Now let me go you big dumb hillbilly, I've still gotta cut your hair."

I growled playfully and held her closer to me as she tried to get up.

"Remember who's got the scissors here," she joked, whispering the fake threat in my ear.

I sighed, "Fine," and let her go.

She stood and began clipping away, doing small little dance moves that wouldn't mess with the cutting of my hair. When she was finally done, she grabbed the handle of the mirror she had put out on the table and held it up to me.

My hair looked just the same as it had the first time I met her. Short-ish, coming only halfway down my forehead.

"What do you think?" she asked, grinning.

"Its good," I said, putting the mirror back onto the table.

"Really? Or are you just saying that because you love me?"

I stood and said, "Both."

She made a thoughtful expression and nodded, walking out of the RV.

"Wait," I said, following her out.

"What?" she asked, turning back around, looking startled.

"I haven't paid ya yet."

She gave me a look that clearly said I was off my fuckin' nut. "Money isn't worth anything anymore, Daryl."

I shook my head and pulled her closer to me. "Not money." I kissed her again, unable to get enough of her.

Who would have thought that I, Daryl Dixon, would end up falling in love with a 16 year old. Well, I guess she was 17 now, but she would always be the 16 year old woman I met at the beginning of the end of the world.

I know if you had told me before that a girl this young would be enough to completely fluster, confused, and tempt me, I would have had you sent to an insane asylum. But here she was, making my heart beat faster against all odds.

A 16 year old girl had been everything I had wanted but couldn't find in women my own age and sometimes older. A 16 year old girl understood me more than my own brother ever could have. A 16 year old girl gave me everything I never knew I wanted, needed, or lived without. Love, understanding, care, and a true home.

I pulled apart, out of breath, and leaned my forehead against hers as she slid her small hand into mine.

"Its about goddamn time!" I heard someone yell.

I turned my head. T-dog had yelled at us. But every single person in our group was standing outside the doors of the motel, smiling. Huh…

So they were completely cool with this? We had been running around behind everyone's backs, keeping deep dark secrets, and hurting other people as well ourselves, only to find out that none of them really had a problem with us being together. Well that fucking sucked.

But, for the first time in my life, I was just too happy to be pissed off.

* * *

><p><strong>Aww, it's over :( I don't want to stop writing this. Please force me to write another sequel! Thank you guys for being such faithful readers and for all the wonderful reviews! I love you all so much and I wish I could thank each one of you in person! Hope you guys enjoyed the ride! ;) <strong>


	46. Help?

So, I have decided to write a sequel, since you guys practically twisted my arm in like 10 hours :P But I would like to ask you guys for a favor. I am unsure how I should continue the series, and I always love hearing reader input, so if you guys have any ideas, please do not hesitate to PM me. I would absolutely love to hear what you guys think should happen next. The sooner you PM me, the sooner I will be able to write and then put up the third installment of the Game Over series :D Mwahahaha! Thank you guys so much! :)

-Ash


End file.
